JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATION STATEMENT: ZAMBIA’S DESCENT INTO LAWLESSNESS: A CALL TO DEFEND CONSTITUTIONALISM, DUE PROCESS AND THE RULE OF LAW

For Immediate Release, 14th September 2026

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, issue this joint statement to express our

grave concern at the pattern of conduct by the Zambian Government in the weeks

following the 13th August 2026 General Election; conduct that, taken together, points to a

deliberate and escalating disregard for the Constitution, the rule of law, and the human

rights of Zambian citizens.

We issue this statement a day before the world marks the International Day of Democracy

on 15 September, a day set aside by the United Nations to reflect on the state of

democracy across the globe. It is a bitter irony that Zambia approaches this day not

celebrating the strength of its democratic institutions but confronting an unprecedented

assault on them. We call on all Zambians, and on the international community, to mark

this year’s International Day of Democracy by reflecting soberly on the events set out

below, and on what they mean for the future of our constitutional order.

We set out below three recent developments that, in our view, form part of a troubling

pattern.

1. The Arbitrary cancellation of passports without due process

On 7th September 2026, Government Gazette Notice No. 1421 of 2026 cancelled, with

immediate effect, the passports of six Zambian citizens: former Ambassador to Ethiopia

Emmanuel Mwamba, historian and academic Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa, former Members of

Parliament Binwell Mpundu and Emmanuel Jay Banda, former Special Assistant to the

President Mr Kaizer Zulu, and social media commentator Ms Lillian Mutambo. The

Gazette cites “security reasons” and “the interest of national security” but discloses no

further grounds, no charge, and no opportunity for any of the affected persons to be heard

before the decision was taken.

This follows the earlier cancellation of the passport and national registration card of Mr.

Celestine Mukandila, Secretary-General of the Tonse/Pamodzi Alliance, also without due

process, and on similarly opaque grounds. Mr Mukandila remains in the custody of the

Department of Immigration over a disputed status probe, and the Lusaka High Court has

since ordered the State to produce him and show cause why he should not be released.

The right to a passport, and the freedom of movement it protects, may not be withdrawn

at the whim of the Executive. Article 22 of the Constitution of Zambia guarantees every

citizen the freedom of movement, defined to include the right to leave and enter Zambia

and to be issued a passport or other travel document. Article 26 requires that any

restriction of that freedom be authorised by law, and that the person affected be entitled

to reasons for the restriction and to have the matter reviewed. Article 18 further

guarantees every person the protection of the law, including the right to be heard before

an adverse decision is made against them. Any restriction must be lawful, necessary,

proportionate, and subject to a fair process in which the affected person can be heard

and can challenge the decision before an independent body. None of that has happened

here. We are deeply concerned that citizenship documents are being weaponised to

silence critics, dissidents, and perceived political opponents of the ruling party.

2. Treason and sedition charges against opposition Presidential and Vice-

Presidential candidates, and prolonged detention without arraignment

National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) Presidential candidate

Mr Brian Mundubile and Vice-Presidential candidate Mr Makebi Zulu have been detained

since 27th August 2026, when they voluntarily presented themselves to police following a

security operation at a property linked to Mr Mundubile on 14 August 2026, during which

a former Cabinet minister was fatally shot. On 29 August 2026, they were jointly charged

with treason, contrary to section 43 of the Penal Code, together with sixteen other co-

accused, and were transferred the following day to Mukobeko Maximum Correctional

Facility in Kabwe. On 11 September 2026, while still awaiting their first court appearance

on the treason charge, they were further arrested and jointly charged with seditious

practices, contrary to section 57 of the Penal Code. As at the time of this statement,

neither man has been brought before a court of law to answer to either charge.

Article 13(3) of the Constitution requires that a person who is arrested or detained be

brought before a court as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case within 48 hours

of arrest (or, where that is not reasonably possible, the earliest practicable time

thereafter). Article 18 further guarantees the right of every person charged with a criminal

offence to be presumed innocent, to be informed promptly of the nature of the charge,

and to a fair hearing within a reasonable time before an independent and impartial court.

We reiterate the principle that an accused person must be brought before a court without

unreasonable delay. Charging a person and holding that charge over them without

arraignment is itself a form of coercion and undermines these constitutional guarantees.

We are further gravely concerned about the human rights situation of the 18 persons

detained in connection with these matters, including Mr Mundubile, Mr Zulu, Mr

Mukandila, and their co-accused. According to a petition filed with the Attorney-General,

Mulilo Kabesha SC, Harrington Akushanga, and the Zambia Correctional Service

Commissioner-General, Fredrick Chilukutu, the 18 detainees, among them George

Chisanga, retired Anglican Bishop Trevor Mwamba, Harry Valden Findlay, and 15 others,

allege unlawful detention, denial of access to legal counsel and family members, and, in

some cases, inhuman and degrading treatment. The petition further alleges that some

detainees were held for extended periods without being informed of the charges against

them and were transferred between police stations and correctional facilities without valid

remand warrants or other lawful process. Mr Findlay is alleged to have been taken from

his residence in Chisamba on 4 August 2026 and held, without access to family, legal

representatives, or his prescribed medication, first at Ibex Hill Police Station and later at

the incomplete section of Mwembeshi Correctional Facility. Three other petitioners are

alleged to have been detained for more than nine days after being picked up at Kenneth

Kaunda International Airport, and to have been subjected during that time to torture and

inhuman treatment, including alleged waterboarding and beatings. We treat these as

extremely serious allegations, made under oath in a petition now before the Lusaka High

Court, which demand independent, transparent and urgent investigation, and we remain

concerned that, weeks after arrest, several of the accused have yet to be brought before

a court to answer to the charges against them.

3. A growing trend of abductions: the arrest of Mafinga South Member of Parliament

Hon. Faith Munthali

We are alarmed by reports that Hon. Faith Munthali, Member of Parliament for Mafinga

South, was apprehended on 11th September 2026 by uniformed men in a manner that did

not accord with basic due process: without the opportunity to have her lawyers present.

This arrest follows earlier public warnings, including from her own party, of a plot to

apprehend her. As with any person arrested or detained, Hon. Munthali is entitled to the

protections of Article 13 (personal liberty, including prompt production before a court) and

Article 18 (protection of the law, including access to legal representation of her choice).

We call on the Zambia Police Service to immediately and transparently confirm her

whereabouts and legal status, to ensure she has unimpeded access to her lawyers and

family, and to treat any allegation against her strictly according to law. Hon. Munthali's

case is not isolated. It echoes the allegations, set out above, that three of the Mundubile

petitioners were picked up at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and held at unknown

locations for over nine days before being brought to a formal detention facility, a pattern

consistent with enforced disappearance, which is recognised under international law as

a grave human rights violation in its own right, distinct from and additional to any

subsequent lawful detention. We are alarmed that abduction-style tactics appear to be

emerging as a recurring feature of the State's response to political opposition and dissent.

A pattern, not isolated incidents

Taken individually, each of these actions is troubling. Taken together, they reveal a

pattern: the use of state power against political opponents, critics, and dissenting voices,

without regard to due process, judicial oversight, or the constitutional protections that exist

precisely to restrain such power. When passports can be cancelled by gazette notice,

when charges can be laid and left hanging indefinitely, and when a sitting Member of

Parliament can be taken into custody without due process, no citizen - however prominent

or however ordinary can consider themselves safe from arbitrary state action.

This is not merely a series of individual grievances. It is a constitutional crisis. Article 1 of

the Constitution declares the Constitution the supreme law of the Republic, binding on all

persons, State organs, and State institutions; any act inconsistent with it is void to the

extent of the inconsistency. Article 2 further imposes on every citizen a duty to defend the

Constitution. It is on this constitutional footing, not mere sentiment, that we ground the

call to action that follows.

Our Call to Action

1. To the citizens of Zambia: Article 2 of the Constitution places on every citizen a

duty to defend the Constitution. We call on you to discharge that duty by rejecting

this descent into lawlessness - peacefully, and strictly within the bounds of the

Constitution and the laws of Zambia. Democracy is defended through lawful

assembly, lawful speech, the courts, and civic vigilance, not through violence or

disorder. Do not be intimidated into silence; equally, do not be provoked into

unlawful conduct that would hand the state a pretext for further repression.

2. To the Government of the Republic of Zambia: We call on you to:

a) immediately cease all actions taken in defiance of Articles 1, 13, 18, 22 and

26 of the Constitution and the rule of law;

b) to restore the cancelled passports pending a fair and transparent process

consistent with Article 26; to bring Messrs Mundubile and Zulu, Mr

Mukandila, and their co-accused before a court of law without further delay,

in keeping with Article 13(3), or to withdraw the charges;

c) to guarantee all detainees unimpeded and confidential access to legal

counsel, family, and prescribed medication, to independently and

transparently investigate all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or

degrading treatment, and to cease any practice amounting to enforced

disappearance or abduction;

d) Restore and consistently observe the rule of law, and of the constitutional

and statutory safeguards that protect every Zambian citizen from arbitrary

state action, regardless of their political persuasion;

e) Renew and visibly commit to peace, and to the safety and security of all

citizens, particularly those in political life who may feel most exposed at this

time;

f) Take concrete steps to restore public confidence in the integrity and

independence of our constitutional and other public offices, including the

offices of the Electoral Commission the Judiciary, the Defence, law

enforcement, and Security Wings, and to restore a commitment to the

separation of powers.

g) Hold an inclusive national dialogue, bringing together Government,

opposition, civil society, faith communities, and other stakeholders, to chart

a way forward for Zambia’s constitutional and democratic order that

commands the confidence of all Zambians.

3. To the international community, on the African continent and beyond: We call on

you not to look away. Zambia’s constitutional order is being tested. Silence and

inaction in the face of this pattern of conduct will be read, correctly, as

acquiescence. We urge regional and international bodies, including the African

Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Commonwealth, SADC, and the

United Nations human rights mechanisms to monitor developments closely and

to engage the Zambian Government directly on these concerns.

Zambia’s hard-won democracy was not built to be dismantled by gazette notice and

midnight arrests. As the world prepares to mark the International Day of Democracy on

15 September, we call on all Zambians of goodwill, and all friends of Zambia abroad, to

stand for constitutionalism, due process, and the rule of law. We equally call for an urgent

deescalation of the prevailing situation through careful reflection and dialogue.

Signed by:

Linda Kasonde

Executive Director, LCK Freedom Foundation

For and on behalf of:

Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation

Caritas Zambia

Chapter One Foundation

Free Press Initiative Zambia

LCK Freedom Foundation