Human Rights Watch has urged Zambia’s government to end what it calls a widespread crackdown on opposition members, lawyers, journalists and government critics after the country’s August 2026 general elections. The group’s report, published in early November, says security forces forcibly disappeared, arbitrarily detained, beat and threatened critics in the days before and after the 13 August vote, which returned President Hakainde Hichilema to office.

The group says the intimidation has chilled civic and political life, and it is calling for detainees to get lawyers and medical care, for those arbitrarily held to be freed, and for abuses to be investigated.

What the report documents

Human Rights Watch says it based its findings on interviews with victims, relatives and lawyers, as well as court documents and other records. Its headline findings are:

• 71 cases in which opposition members, supporters and government critics were allegedly arrested on potentially politically motivated charges or held for long periods without charge.
• 14 cases that appeared to be enforced disappearances, in which the authorities allegedly refused to disclose where detained people were being held.
• 61 cases in which detainees, their lawyers or relatives alleged beatings or other violence during arrest or detention.
• 18 people charged with treason, two of whom also face sedition charges.

The report also records that 43 opposition members acting as election monitors were detained on 14 August. Their whereabouts were unknown for eight days, their lawyer said police denied holding them, and a Lusaka court ordered their release on 10 September after 21 days in detention, ruling that their arrest was unjustified. Seventeen musicians and comedians detained after performing at an opposition rally in Mongu, Western Province, were released on bail on 30 August after more than three weeks in detention.

The Mundubile raid and Kafwaya’s death

Much of the report centres on the 14 August security operation at the Lusaka home of Tonse Alliance opposition leader Brian Mundubile. Human Rights Watch says several opposition members and supporters were picked up during the raid, some held for days while families searched police stations, and some taken first to what was described as a military command centre.

The report also renews calls for an independent investigation into the death of former government minister Mutotwe Kafwaya during the raid. Opposition members present alleged that security forces killed him, while Inspector General of Police Graphel Musamba said officers encountered gunfire and returned fire. Mundubile stated in a High Court petition, reviewed by Human Rights Watch, that he saw a member of the military fatally shoot Kafwaya. The organisation says the conflicting accounts make an independent, impartial and thorough investigation necessary. Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu were arrested on 27 August and charged with treason and sedition over a 14 August Facebook Live broadcast in which they reportedly said the opposition had won the election.

Government response and wider context

The report notes that on 11 September the government cancelled the passports of six critics, including academic Sishuwa Sishuwa, for security reasons, and that court premises were closed between 24 and 28 August, the period for challenging the presidential election results. Seven people, including lawyers and a journalist, told the organisation they had fled their homes or gone into hiding, fearing arrest. Zambia’s Human Rights Commission had earlier said it was following 84 election-related detainees.

Zambia’s foreign ministry has rejected outside criticism. It dismissed a 2 September communication from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, which had called for political detainees to be released, as inaccurate and undiplomatic, and said membership of an opposition party does not place anyone beyond the reach of the law. Human Rights Watch points out that Zambia is due to serve on the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2027 to 2029 term, and its deputy Africa director, Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, urged regional leaders and development partners to press President Hichilema to restore the rule of law and protect civic space. Read the full account in Zambian Eye and the report text carried by Genocide Watch.

Frequently asked questions

What did Human Rights Watch find in Zambia? It documented 71 arrests or prolonged detentions it considered potentially politically motivated, 14 apparent enforced disappearances and 61 cases of alleged beatings or abuse around the August 2026 elections.

Who is Brian Mundubile? He is the Tonse Alliance opposition leader whose Lusaka home was raided by security forces on 14 August. He was later arrested with running mate Makebi Zulu and charged with treason and sedition.

Has Zambia’s government responded? The foreign ministry rejected a United Nations rights expert’s intervention in September and maintains that opposition membership does not shield anyone from the law, while the courts remain open to test such matters.