Politics
African Union Urged to Stop President Hichilema Inauguration by Emmanuel Mwamba
AU URGED TO STOP PRESIDENT HICHILEMA INAUGURATION BY EMMANUEL MWAMBA. Exiled Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance Media Chairperson Emmanuel Mwamba has called on the African Union (AU) to urgently intervene and stop the planned inauguration of President elect Hakainde Hichilema, saying Zambia remains trapped in a post election…
Picture: Zambian Observer
AU URGED TO STOP PRESIDENT HICHILEMA INAUGURATION BY EMMANUEL MWAMBA.
Exiled Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance Media Chairperson Emmanuel Mwamba has called on the African Union (AU) to urgently intervene and stop the planned inauguration of President elect Hakainde Hichilema, saying Zambia remains trapped in a post election crisis.
In a letter dated August 25, 2026, addressed to African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Mr Mwamba appealed to the continental body to intervene over what he described as serious and continuing breaches of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
Mr Mwamba, a former Zambian Ambassador to Ethiopia said the opposition alliance still disputes the election outcome, maintaining that it won the election.
He warned that the situation could become more difficult to address once the September 1, 2026 inauguration takes place.
“The gravest of these breaches can still be arrested, but only before the inauguration scheduled for 1 September 2026 renders judicial scrutiny of the election moot,” Mr Mwamba wrote.
He further alleged that constitutional and judicial mechanisms for challenging the election result were being disabled
Mr Mwamba cited the August 24 closure of court premises across Zambia, including the Lusaka High Court complex and the building housing the Constitutional Court, saying the premises were sealed by armed military and police personnel.
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According to Mr Mwamba, lawyers were ordered to leave the premises, while Judiciary staff received an unsigned memorandum communicating the closure.
He said no formal public explanation had been provided regarding the legal basis, scope or duration of the closure
Mr Mwamba argued that the timing was particularly serious because the closure occurred on the final day of the seven-day constitutional period for challenging the declaration of the President-elect before the Constitutional Court.
He has therefore urged the AU to act urgently, arguing that any intervention after the inauguration could undermine the opposition’s opportunity to pursue its concerns through the courts.
-Zambian Watch News.
Source: Zambian Observer — Read more
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