GOVERNMENT U-TURNS; SAYS IT WILL PROBE HON MUTOTWE KAFWAYA’S KILLING
GOVERNMENT U-TURNS; SAYS IT WILL PROBE HON MUTOTWE KAFWAYA’S KILLING
Under pressure from the European Parliament over the chaotic handling of the post-election situation in Zambia which also led to the killing of former minister Kafwaya and detention of leading opposition figure Brian Mundubile, the government says it is opening a probe into the extrajudicial killing of the former Lunte MP.
“The circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Kafwaya on 14 Augustine are under investigation by the Zambia Police Service with independent oversight by the Zambia Human Rights Commission,” according to the statement by foreign affairs minister Mulambo Haimbe.
The statement is in response to the European Parliament’s adoption of a resolution on addressing post-electoral developments and human rights concerns following Zambia’s August 2026 general elections
During the adoption this week, members of the European Parliament called for an impartial investigation into the violence and the death of opposition figures following the election period
And Haimbe says the probe into the killing of Kafwaya will be open to his family.
“The family has been offered the opportunity to participate in the post-mortem examination through legal representation and an independent pathologist,” Haimbe said.
In the aftermath of the killing which the government earlier denied, the family of Kafwaya complained of mistreatment by the government officials by being denied access to the forensic autopsy.
The family also complained by the intentionally setting fire to clothes that Kafwaya wore when he was fatally, a move they said is an attempt by the government destroy evidence that could help establish the circumstances of his death after a raid at the property of Mundubile by State security agents in the post-election crackdown last month.