Amid rapidly escalating political tensions following Zambia’s recent presidential election, opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has been formally charged with treason, according to his legal representation. The charges cap a week of escalating unrest that began after official results confirmed incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema won a second consecutive five-year term.
Official election data released by Zambia’s electoral body shows Hichilema secured 60% of the vote in the 13 August poll, while Mundubile, running for the opposition National Restoration Party of the United Progressive (NRPUP), won 38% of the national vote. Mundubile immediately rejected the official outcome, raising unsubstantiated claims of irregularities in the vote-counting process.
In response to the opposition’s challenge, Zambian authorities accused NRPUP of plotting to launch an armed insurgency to overthrow the elected government, an allegation the party has repeatedly and vehemently denied.
The situation turned deadly one day after the election, when Zambian security forces carried out a raid on a Lusaka property linked to Mundubile. The operation left one former cabinet minister dead and multiple other opposition figures in detention. In the wake of the violent raid, Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu fled to seek safe shelter in a local United Nations compound in the capital, where they remained in hiding for several days.
President Hichilema’s administration subsequently put diplomatic pressure on the United Nations to hand the two opposition figures over to local authorities, leading to their detention shortly after. On Saturday evening, Mundubile’s defense attorney Milner Katolo confirmed to local outlet *Zambian Eye* that his client had been served with a formal treason charge. Katolo added that Mundubile is prepared to contest the accusation publicly in an open court of law.
Katolo also confirmed that 17 additional people, including Zulu himself, face the same treason charges alongside the opposition leader.
The opposition’s efforts to formally challenge the election results through the country’s judicial system were ultimately blocked, after authorities sealed off access to all court buildings on Monday — the final legal deadline for filing election petitions. This move left opposition figures with no formal avenue to contest the outcome through institutional channels.
As Zambia prepares for Hichilema’s 1 September swearing-in ceremony for his second term, the political fallout continues to draw regional and international scrutiny. While most regional and international election observers assessed that election day itself was conducted in a largely peaceful manner, the Zambia Human Rights Commission has opened a call for accountability, demanding investigations into the cases of dozens of people who remain unaccounted for following post-election arrests and security operations.