STATEMENT ON THE ZAMBIA ELECTIONS AND JUSTICE FOR BRIAN MUNDUBILE AND MAKEBI ZULU

STATEMENT ON THE ZAMBIA ELECTIONS AND

JUSTICE FOR BRIAN MUNDUBILE AND MAKEBI ZULU

We, the undersigned leaders, activists, and defenders of democracy and human rights across Africa and beyond, express our concern for the well-being of Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu, NRPUP opposition leader and presidential candidate and his running mate in Zambia’s general elections on 13 August 2026. We also express our alarm over the manner in which they and other opposition politicians have been taken into custody. We convey our condolences to the family of former cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya, who was fatally shot by police at the home of Mundubile on 14 August 2026.

We call on authori<es to present whatever charges they may have against Mundubile and Zulu in accordance with Zambian and interna<onal law and to allow access to them by their family and legal counsel. Failing to do so, we call for their immediate and unconditional release and the return to the rule of law and civil liberties in

Zambia.

Mundubile and Zulu, along with other opposition politicians, have been arrested and charged with treason in the aftermath of Zambia’s general elections on 13 August 2026. Sadly, this action echoes the authoritarian playbook now being followed in Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, and South Sudan. It is particularly alarming in a country whose leader, President Hakainde Hichilema, distinguished himself through a decades-long struggle for democracy, rule of law, and human rights.

Under his leadership, Zambia had become a role model for many in opposition movements across the continent who see their own struggles through the prism of the presidential contests of President Hichilema before he won on his sixth attempt in 2021, and the repression he personally suffered with many episodes of arrest and detention.

Democracy is under constant threat in southern Africa and beyond. Before the Zambia poll, undemocratic practices characterised recent elections held in Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Zambia has, since 2021, been a much-needed beacon of light in this environment, where its struggles against creeping authoritarianism under the previous Patriotic Front government illustrate the need for determination, resilience and resourcefulness in arresting and reversing the slide into autocracy.

It is for these reasons that Zambia’s recent election of 13 August 2026 and its aftermath raise serious questions about the health of Zambia’s democratic institutions and practices. International and local observation missions overwhelmingly agree that President Hichilema was the winner of the August 2026 vote. However, serious allegations about the way the election was conducted have been raised by national and international observation missions and civil society organisations. These include:

• An unexplained six-hour pause in the counting of votes, after which EU observers noted the Electoral Commission of Zambia failed to observe its own protocols when counting resumed;

• Discrepancies in some constituencies between presidential and parliamentarian votes changing the distribution of legislative seats to the advantage of President Hichilema’s UPND;

• The closure of courts on the deadline day for the submission of legal challenges to the election;

• Harassment and deten<on of opposi<on leaders, including the deadly shoo<ng of a former Cabinet minister

and the death of a polling agent; and

• The arrest of the opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu on treason charges amidst claims that his party was planning an armed insurgency.

While we question the premature and unjustified claim of the opposition leader to have won the election, this action did not warrant and does not justify the state response which has ensued. If there is credible evidence to justify the charges of treason, these should be brought publicly and with full due process accorded to the defendants. We also take note that the media environment in Zambia is awash with claims, counterclaims and false news.

Nevertheless, we concur with the grave concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association over the deteriora<ng democra<c and human rights environment in Zambia.

It is critical for the preservation of Zambia’s democratic integrity that specious charges against opposition leaders and politicians be dropped and the rule of law be immediately and fully restored. We also call for a thorough, independent review to be undertaken, with concrete measures for remedying harm done identified.

This review should include, inter alia,

• The Electoral Commission of Zambia’s performance during the election, including the alleged differences in the voting tallies;

• The performance of the security forces before, during and after the election;

• The role of political leadership in maintaining good conduct during the election;

• The basis on which the opposi<on made its claims of victory; and

• Allegations of malevolent foreign involvement in the election.

We urge President Hichilema to commit to facilitating a swift, unimpeded and independent review. We further

urge that the findings be made public in full and that the Government of Zambia implement the findings expeditiously.

In so doing, the Government of Zambia would help to restore its democratic credibility and give confidence to investors in the primacy of the rule of law.

Such transparent action is necessary to maintain Zambia's image as a free country that upholds and safeguards

its people's democratic rights, prioritises human development, and stands against the regional tide of authoritarianism.

Signed By:

Ian Khama, Former President of Botswana

Branko Brkic, Leader, Project Kon<nuum, South Africa

David Coltart, Mayor of Bulawayo, former Minister of Education, Zimbabwe

Jeffrey Smith, Executive Director, Vanguard Africa, USA

John Kitoka, Director of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, CHADEMA, Tanzania

Karin von Hippel, former Director-General, RUSI, USA

Kate Almquist Knopf, former USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa, USA

Nic Cheeseman, Professor, University of Birmingham, UK

Paula Cristina Roque, World Liberty Congress, Portugal

Tut Riek Jikany, South Sudan Democracy Network Initiative, World Liberty Congress, South Sudan

The Platform for African Democrats (PAD) is a forum dedicated to advancing African democracy and ending autocratic rule. Only with democracy and the rule of law can economic growth, the delivery of services and a better life for citizens be durably and equitably achieved.

For further informa5on please visit: www.pad.africa