By 
Mazabuka Independent Parliamentary Candidate Gary Nkombo has called upon the Zambia Police Service to immediately restore the right of peaceful assembly.
Nkombo also called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to fulfil its constitutional mandate as an independent body and not as an instrument of the ruling party.
In a statement issued in Mazabuka on Monday after police officers disrupted his political rally campaign launch on Sunday, Nkombo also called upon the Judiciary to resist all attempts to weaponise legal processes against democratic participation.
The demands follow his allegation that the Police, acting in concert with agents of the ruling party, unlawfully cancelled his formal campaign launch and suspended all electoral activities in Mazabuka on the evening of June 6, 2026 and into June 7, 2026.
“Democracy does not defend itself. It is defended by citizens who refuse to be silenced,” said the former Mazabuka Central UPND area lawmaker.
He stated that the action violated a signed agreement dated June 4, 2026, witnessed by the Mazabuka Electoral Office, authorising the use of the agreed venue.
Nkombo said he did not want to be an accomplice of tyranny by remaining silent in view of Constitutional violence and weaponisation of the Law and law enforcement institutions.
“I do not want to be an accomplice of tyranny by remaining silent in view of Constitutional violence and weaponisation of the Law and law enforcement institutions,” he stated.
Nkombo argued the Constitution of Zambia guarantees freedom of assembly, association, and political choice, while the Electoral Code of Conduct exists to ensure a level playing field for all candidates.
“Suspending my campaign activities while those of the ruling UPND candidate continued unimpeded is not a neutral law-enforcement decision. It is politically motivated suppression,” he said.
Nkombo alleged that the Zambia Police Service had been weaponised not to protect the peace, but to protect the interests of those in power.
He listed seven documented incidents he described as a planned series of targeted, sustained, coordinated campaign of police harassment.
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“These include a violent attack by State House Official Bilden Shaloba on 20 May 2026, his unlawful arrest on 1 June 2026, a High Court petition to disqualify independent candidates, and withdrawal of his approved campaign symbol on 6 June 2026,” Nkombo said.
He also cited police and UPND Secretary-General collusion on June 6, 2026, teargas and armed police deployed in Mazabuka, and the weaponisation of the Constitutional Court by agents of the state.
“These seven systematic incidents of administrative sabotage and manufactured legal processes are not coincidental. It appears to be a deliberate, coordinated strategy to deploy every arm of the state against a legitimate independent candidate and, through that candidate, against the voters of Mazabuka Central themselves,” Nkombo stated.
He said the message being sent to voters was that as long as state institutions were controlled, their vote and right to choose did not matter, and anyone who challenges the ruling party would be destroyed. He added that he and the people of Mazabuka Central rejected such that message.
Nkombo also dismissed propaganda suggesting he had endorsed other political candidates, saying: “Let me be clear: I am an Independent Candidate and have been issuing my own statements. I urge the media and the people of Mazabuka Central to disregard any forms of cheap propaganda circulating on social media.”
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