Zambia
Seven international legal bodies raise rule-of-law concerns over aftermath of Zambia election
Seven international legal organisations have raised concerns over the rule of law in Zambia following developments surrounding the Aug. 13 general election, citing alleged restrictions on access to justice, security-force conduct and pressure on lawyers handling election-related cases. The organisations are the International Bar Association’s…
Picture: Zambia Monitor
Seven international legal organisations have raised concerns over the rule of law in Zambia following developments surrounding the Aug. 13 general election, citing alleged restrictions on access to justice, security-force conduct and pressure on lawyers handling election-related cases.
The organisations are the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, East Africa Law Society, International Commission of Jurists, Law Society of England and Wales, Lawyers for Lawyers and Pan African Lawyers Union.
In a joint statement, the groups said the developments raised questions about judicial independence, the conduct and accountability of security forces, access to justice in election disputes and the ability of lawyers to perform their professional duties without fear of reprisal.
“Taken together, the incidents outlined below raise serious questions about the independence of the judiciary, security-force conduct and accountability, election-related access to justice, and the ability of lawyers to carry out their professional functions without fear of reprisal,” the organisations said.
The groups cited the reported deployment of the Zambia Army and joint security task forces during and after polling, as well as reports by election observers, including the European Union mission, concerning irregularities during counting and tabulation.
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They also cited the Aug. 14 security operation at a property linked to opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile, during which former Cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was fatally shot, according to the statement.
The organisations further raised concerns over the closure and cordoning off of the Constitutional Court, High Court, Supreme Court and other court premises on Aug. 24, which was the final day of the constitutional period for filing a presidential election petition.
They said the Law Association of Zambia had reported that it had not received a formal explanation for the closure, while the disabling of the Chief Registrar’s office email allegedly prevented electronic filing of petitions.
The groups also alleged that a significant number of opposition figures had been arrested and detained in circumstances that appeared arbitrary and that some lawyers involved in election-related challenges had left Zambia because of safety concerns.
They cited former Law Association of Zambia president Linda Kasonde, who they said prepared and electronically lodged a petition through the personal email address of the Chief Justice within the seven-day deadline.
The organisations said the developments should also be viewed against what they described as concerns over judicial independence, including the May 2026 appointment of 40 judges, changes to judicial salaries and the October 2024 removal of three Constitutional Court judges.
They called for independent investigations into Kafwaya’s death, inquiries into the court closure and judicial appointments, publication of detainee lists, protection for lawyers carrying out their professional duties and restoration of the passports of six individuals whose documents were cancelled under Statutory Instrument No. 1421 of 2026.
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