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Citizens First Party leader, Harry Kalaba, has accused the administration of President Hakainde Hichilema of systematically targeting opposition leaders and government critics through what he described as unlawful harassment, detentions, arrests and politically motivated prosecutions.
Kalaba said the latest country assessment by Human Rights Watch, released in New York, had highlighted extensive human rights concerns in Zambia, including shrinking civic space and the state’s continued clampdown on dissenting voices.
According to Kalaba, the World Report 2026, which reviewed human rights conditions across 100 countries, stated that the government had become “increasingly authoritarian,” adopting oppressive legal measures and weaponising state institutions to silence critics ahead of the August 2026 elections.
He cited the most recent incident involving Tonse Alliance president and Mporokoso Member of Parliament, Brian Mundubile, who was on Thursday removed from a travel manifest and stopped from departing Kenneth Kaunda International Airport before being detained for hours and later transferred to Ibex Hill Police Station.
Kalaba described the conduct of authorities as “highly suspicious,” questioning why law enforcement agencies waited until Mundubile attempted to travel to South Africa before moving to detain him.
“Did they need to wait until he was leaving the country before calling him for interrogations? Why was no police call-out issued?” Kalaba asked.
He argued that similar incidents had become a recurring pattern, noting previous cases where opposition figures were stopped or interrogated at the airport—including former president Edgar Lungu, the late Edith Nawakwi, and Socialist Party president Fred M’membe.
Kalaba called on President Hichilema to “stop abusing law enforcement agencies,” saying their alleged weaponisation posed a serious threat to the country’s democratic processes.
“The action against Hon. Mundubile does not follow the principles of due process, is illegitimate and must be abandoned,” he said.
He warned that continued harassment of the opposition undermined Zambia’s ability to hold democratic, credible, free and fair elections.
Mundubile has since been released by the police who say he would appear in court soon.
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