When Bishop Trevor Mwamba went missing after Zambia’s August election, his family spent four days searching for him. Police had told them he was not at Matero Police Station. He was, according to Human Rights Watch.
His is one of 14 apparent enforced disappearances the rights group documented in a report released Sunday, in which police and soldiers hold people and refuse to say where. Zambia is a majority-Black democracy that southern Africa has long pointed to as a place where power changes hands at the ballot box. Readers in the diaspora, ours included, have a stake in whether that is still true.
The vote was Aug. 13, and President Hakainde Hichilema won a second term. Observers noted irregularities, including a suspension of counting. Human Rights Watch says what followed was a crackdown on opposition members, supporters, lawyers, journalists and critics.
The group’s count: 14 apparent disappearances, 61 cases of alleged beatings or violent abuse during arrest or detention, and 71 arrests or prolonged detentions without charge that appear to be politically motivated. Seven people, including lawyers and journalists, fled their homes fearing arrest. Relatives of critics abroad were harassed in two cases.
The deadliest episode came Aug. 14, when police raided the home of opposition leader Brian Mundubile. Mutotwe Kafwaya, a former government minister, died there. Police said officers came under “gunfire and resistance” and returned fire. His death was not confirmed to his family until his wife filed a habeas corpus petition, five days later. Human Rights Watch says the authorities have yet to credibly explain or investigate it.
Forty-three election monitors were detained. Their lawyer says they were beaten and denied food during the first eight days, and that some had broken bones when a court ordered them released on Sept. 10.
Eighteen detainees face treason charges, and two also face sedition charges. Mundubile and his running mate were charged with seditious practices after saying on Facebook that the opposition had won. Hundreds of supporters were arrested, according to the UN, and 11 senior opposition figures were held over an alleged coup plot, which they deny. Zambia’s Human Rights Commission is tracking 84 election-related detainees held for long periods and told of charges late.
The government rejects the criticism. Zambia’s Foreign Ministry called the UN’s concerns “inaccurate, undiplomatic” and said opposition membership does not shield anyone from prosecution. That is true in the abstract. It does not explain why a wife had to go to court to learn whether her husband was alive, or why saying you won an election is a crime.
“The authorities should immediately halt the ongoing post-election crackdown, allow access to lawyers and provide medical care for those in detention, release everyone arbitrarily detained, and ensure accountability for abuses by security forces,” said Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Africa director.
UN Special Rapporteur Gina Romero has also demanded the release of political detainees. A government that won an election has no need to jail the people who doubt it. Mundubile is expected in court this week.
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