Zambia after the election: Anyone who criticizes the government endangers stability

In Zambia, the government is taking increasingly tough action against the opposition. What began a month ago as a dispute over the results of the parliamentary and presidential elections on August 13th is now becoming a test of whether criticism of the government is still tolerated. Political and media freedom is becoming ever smaller.

The main opposition candidate Brian Mundubile, who was defeated in the presidential election, and his vice-presidential candidate Makebi Zulu have now been formally charged with insurrection and taken into custody. They had been in police custody since August 27 on charges of treason after a cache of weapons was found on a Mundubile property in the capital Lusaka.

The two remain in the Mukobeko detention center, a police spokesman said, adding that the police "reaffirm their commitment to maintaining law and order." All matters would be handled “fairly, professionally and lawfully”.

Previously, the small opposition party Citizens First announced that its elected MP Faith Muthali had been kidnapped by unknown persons. The Mafinga South MP eventually showed up at Chinsali police station where she and three others were charged with “carrying weapons in public and conspiracy to commit a crime”.

This worries civil rights activists in Zambia. “When an elected representative is persecuted in this way, no citizen can feel safe,” said Beauty Katebe from the women’s rights umbrella organization NGOCC (Non-governmental Gender Organizations Coordinating Council).

Munthali had already been verbally and physically attacked before the elections. The fact that this continues after the election is “totally unacceptable,” said Katebe. “The government, particularly the police, must end the increasingly obvious pattern of intimidation of women and dissident voices through arrests and suspected kidnappings.”

Also over the weekend, internet activist Misheck Mulubwa, known for Tiktok videos, was arrested on charges of “insulting” the president and hate speech. And the anti-government Facebook page “Zambia Freedom” was reported to the cybercrime agency by the ruling UPND (United Party for National Development) party for allegedly spreading fake news and incitement.

Their content “has the potential to create resentment and unnecessary division among citizens,” said UPND spokesman Mark Simuuwe. The arrests follow another controversial move against government critics: the revocation of Zambian citizenship. Last week this affected, among others, the former diplomat Emmanuel Mwamba, the historian Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa, former MP and presidential staffer and a blogger. The previous week, opposition politician Celestine Mukandila was the first to be given this sanction. Those affected no longer have valid papers and can no longer regularly identify themselves.