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An 18-year-old University of Zambia student has died after reportedly drowning in an open pit within the campus, police said on Wednesday, as the incident unfolded just after President Hakainde Hichilema called an emergency meeting over worsening sanitation conditions at public universities.
The Zambia Police Service said it recorded a case of sudden and unnatural death involving the student, identified as Emmanuel Bwalya, a second-year School of Hunanities student at the University of Zambia.
Police spokesperson, Godfrey Chilabi, said the incident occurred on March 31, 2026, around 21:00 hours within the campus.
Preliminary investigations suggest Bwalya accidentally fell into an open water-filled pit and drowned.
He was retrieved by personnel from the Zambia National Service and rushed to Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
“The body has since been deposited in the hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination,” Chilabi said, adding that an inquiry file has been opened to establish the full circumstances.
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The tragedy came hours after Hichilema on Tuesday convened an emergency meeting at State House following rising public outrage over deteriorating sanitation at UNZA.
The President summoned senior officials from the Ministries of Education, Health, Infrastructure, and Water Development & Sanitation, along with UNZA management, directing them to deliver urgent, practical solutions.
The President ordered a nationwide audit of sanitation facilities in public universities and colleges and instructed ministries to work with the Zambia National Service to fast-track interventions.
According to State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka, the President expressed dissatisfaction with long-standing neglect of student welfare and warned that sanitation issues must no longer be treated as “side matters.”
“Sanitation is central to health, well-being, and basic human dignity,” President Hichilema said, stressing that no student should be learning in unsafe or unhygienic environments.
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