By Burnett Munthali
LUSAKA — Seven international and regional legal organisations have called for independent investigations into Zambia’s post-election handling of the judiciary, security operations, arrests and cancellation of passports, raising concerns about access to justice and the independence of legal institutions.
The call follows a joint statement issued on September 16, 2026, by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, East Africa Law Society, International Commission of Jurists, Law Society of England and Wales, Lawyers for Lawyers and Pan African Lawyers’ Union.
At the centre of the organisations’ concerns is the closure and cordoning-off of Zambia’s superior courts on August 24, 2026, shortly before the constitutional deadline for filing presidential election petitions. The groups said the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, High Court and other courts were inaccessible while police and military personnel were deployed around the premises.
The organisations said the Chief Registrar’s email system was also disabled during the shutdown, affecting electronic filing of legal documents. The Law Association of Zambia had previously raised concerns about the lack of a formal explanation for the court closures. Human Rights Watch separately reported concerns that the shutdown restricted access to the courts at a critical stage of the electoral process.
The legal bodies also raised questions about security operations following the August 13 general election, including the August 14 incident in which former Cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was fatally shot during a security operation at a property linked to an opposition presidential candidate. The Commonwealth Lawyers Association has separately called for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Kafwaya’s death.
The organisations further alleged that opposition figures and other people associated with the opposition were arrested or detained after the election, while some lawyers involved in election-related cases faced security concerns. They cited former Law Association of Zambia president Linda Kasonde, who reportedly used the Chief Justice’s personal email address to electronically lodge an election petition during the court closure.
Another major concern involves the cancellation of six passports under Statutory Instrument No. 1421 of 2026. The legal organisations argue that the cancellations require scrutiny under Zambia’s constitutional protections and international obligations concerning freedom of movement. Amnesty International has also criticised the passport cancellations and called for the affected documents to be restored.
The groups have additionally questioned developments concerning judicial independence, including the appointment of 40 judges in May 2026, changes to judicial remuneration and the 2024 removal of three Constitutional Court judges. They have called for independent and transparent inquiries into those matters rather than relying solely on competing political or institutional claims.
The seven organisations have presented six principal demands. These include an independent investigation into Kafwaya’s death, an inquiry into the legality of the August court closures, publication of a verifiable list of election-related detainees, protection for lawyers carrying out their professional duties, restoration of the cancelled passports pending due process, and investigations into the disputed judicial appointments, salary changes and removal of the three Constitutional Court judges.
The concerns come amid an ongoing debate in Zambia over the state of constitutional governance following the August election. The government has rejected separate civil-society allegations that Zambia has descended into lawlessness, with Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha saying the claims were unsupported by established facts and evidence.
The latest intervention by the legal organisations therefore adds another international legal perspective to a growing debate over the courts, constitutional safeguards, security operations and the protection of legal practitioners in post-election Zambia.
