In the tense aftermath of Zambia’s recently concluded presidential election, authorities have confirmed that a former senior cabinet minister has died from injuries sustained during a security force raid on a property tied to the main opposition candidate. The incident has deepened political friction in the southern African nation just days after incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema was declared the winner of a second five-year term.
Mutotwe Kafwaya, 49, a long-serving opposition lawmaker and former minister under the previous administration, was fatally shot during the operation carried out in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, this past Friday—one day after the country went to the polls. Police spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that Kafwaya was killed during an exchange of fire between a joint security task force and individuals at the property, which opposition leader Brian Mundubile claims is his private residence.
According to official police accounts, officers entered the premises as part of an investigation into alleged subversive activity, and encountered armed resistance that forced them to return fire. “In the process one unidentified male person was fatally wounded, and the firearm was recovered,” a police statement read, noting that Kafwaya’s family later formally identified his body. Eleven additional people were taken into custody during the raid.
Security officials have accused Mundubile’s party, the National Restoration Party of Zambia (NRPUP), of engaging in insurgency and militia activity, and claim the raid recovered high-grade weaponry from the property. Mundubile, who has gone into hiding since the operation, has dismissed all accusations as “total fabrications” manufactured to discredit the opposition.
Kafwaya’s political career spans nearly a decade in Zambian public office. He first won a parliamentary seat in 2016, before being appointed Minister of Works by then-President Edgar Lungu in 2018. A year later, he was shifted to lead the Ministry of Transport, a post he held until Lungu lost the 2021 presidential election to Hichilema. He remained an active opposition member of parliament following the transition of power.
Official election results released last week show Hichilema secured a comfortable victory with 60 percent of the national vote, while Mundubile trailed close behind with 38 percent of ballots cast. The opposition leader has rejected the outcome, alleging widespread tampering during the vote tallying process, and has announced plans to contest the results through Zambia’s judicial system. Mundubile told reporters Tuesday that he had no information about Kafwaya’s fate in the 48 hours after the raid, as calls for transparency around the former minister’s disappearance grew across the country.
While regional and international election observers largely characterized election day itself as peaceful, the post-vote period has been marked by rising political tension. Observers have raised pointed concerns over last-minute changes to electoral rules, shrinking press freedom, and unequal access to media platforms for opposition candidates during the campaign period. The European Union’s election observation mission warned over the weekend that systematic restrictions on opposition campaign activity created an “uneven contest” that undermined the fairness of the poll.