Ex-Zambian minister killed in post-election shooting

Mutotwe Kafwaya was fatally shot when a task force returned fire during an operation targeting suspected national security threats, police have said

Former Zambian transport minister and opposition politician Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot dead by security forces during a raid on the residence of presidential candidate Brian Mundubile a day after last week’s election, police have said.

Zambian police chief Graphel Musamba said on Wednesday that a joint security task force encountered “gunfire and resistance from unknown individuals” during the operation in the capital Lusaka on August 14 and returned fire, fatally wounding “one unidentified male person” later identified by his family as Kafwaya.

Eleven people, including senior opposition figures, were arrested during the raid. The government said the operation targeted suspected militia activity and an alleged armed insurrection, adding that restricted military-grade weapons and ammunition were recovered.

Read more

Opposition figure Mundubile, who was at the residence, rejected the allegations as “total fabrications” and said he saw officers shoot Kafwaya twice. He described the operation as an attempt on his life.

The Information Ministry initially dismissed reports that the 49-year-old former lawmaker had been shot. Defense Ministry Permanent Secretary Maambo Haamaundu separately said checks at Maina Soko Medical Center found no patient under Kafwaya’s name. Police confirmed his death on Wednesday after his family identified him as the previously unidentified man killed during the raid.

At a press briefing on Thursday, Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa expressed the government’s condolences to Kafwaya’s family and said it regretted his death. He said “no further comments” would be made while the incident is under investigation and urged the public to “remain calm and avoid speculation.”

READ MORE: Southern African states push to keep mineral wealth at home

Kafwaya served as transport and communications minister under former President Edgar Lungu from July 2019 until August 2021. He represented the Lunte constituency in parliament from 2016 and was reelected in 2021.

The operation followed an unusually tense election in a country that has held largely peaceful votes since returning to multiparty democracy in 1991. President Hakainde Hichilema secured a second term with 60.5% of valid ballots, compared with around 38% for Mundubile, according to official results. Mundubile has rejected the result and said he would challenge it in court over alleged irregularities.

Read more

On Thursday, police chief Musamba said Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, have been summoned for questioning over “various alarming activities” that could threaten national security. He said official notices have been served on their lawyers.

Musamba said the two politicians have sought refuge “with a known international organization,” which he did not identify. He added that the government has assured the organization that “the suspects are entitled to the due process of the law and their fundamental human rights, and that there is no harm intended to be done to them in any way.”

UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Wednesday urged the Zambian authorities to stop arbitrary arrests and uphold the due process rights of detainees.