The Death of Constitutionalism: How August 13 Marked the Darkness of Zambia’s Democracy- Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma
The Death of Constitutionalism: How August 13 Marked the Darkness of Zambia’s Democracy
By Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma
Constitutionalism in Zambia did not simply experience a quiet decline—it suffered a decisive, fatal blow on August 13, 2026, during the general elections. The unprecedented deployment of state military forces, including heavy military hardware, to directly oversee and secure polling stations fundamentally altered the country’s electoral character.
What was constitutionally mandated to be a peaceful, civilian-led exercise in citizen sovereignty turned into an atmosphere of heavy-handed coercion and state intimidation. By replacing democratic safeguards with military oversight, the constitutional promise of free, fair, and un-intimidated elections was systematically dismantled.
What unfolded in the immediate post-election hours was the outright, violent unraveling of Zambia’s democratic fabric.
The Raid on Kabulonga and the Death of Hon. Mutotwe Kafwaya
The political crisis escalated into lethal violence on the evening of August 14, 2026, during the live vote tabulation process. A heavily armed Joint Task Force—comprising elite commandos from the Zambia Army, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), and the Zambia Police Service—executed a night raid on the private Kabulonga residence of main opposition presidential candidate Hon. Brian Mundubile.
During the raid, state security personnel opened fire. Among those present was former Transport Minister and Lunte Member of Parliament, Hon. Mutotwe Kafwaya. Kafwaya sustained multiple fatal gunshot wounds. Eleven other individuals, including opposition political staff, were forcibly apprehended and detained on site.
Five Days of State Denial and the Judicial Compulsion
In the immediate aftermath of the raid, state authorities engaged in a blackout of information regarding Kafwaya’s fate. For nearly five days, senior government representatives explicitly rejected reports of his death or critical condition. When opposition running mate Makebi Zulu alerted the public that Kafwaya had been taken to a military health facility with severe chest wounds, Ministry of Defence officials publicly dismissed the statements, claiming no record of Kafwaya existed at their facilities.
The state’s narrative collapsed only when Kafwaya’s spouse, Mrs. Dinis Ng’andu Kafwaya, filed an urgent habeas corpus application in the High Court of Zambia. The legal petition sought an order forcing state security agencies to produce her husband before a court of law. Faced with mandatory judicial scrutiny, Inspector General of Police Graphel Musamba released an official statement on August 19, finally confirming that Hon. Mutotwe Kafwaya had died from gunshot wounds inflicted during the August 14 operation.
A Regime Built on Concocted Insurgency Charges
To rationalize the use of lethal force and mask the extrajudicial nature of the operation, state security organs claimed to have uncovered an “insurgency plot,” citing the recovery of cash and alleged weapons at the scene. Opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu firmly rejected the allegations, pointing out that the state fabricated the narrative to:
Justify Lethal Force: Rebrand an extrajudicial killing as a response to an armed confrontation.
Institute Capital Charges: Levy non-bailable charges of treason, sedition, and espionage against key opposition figures to eliminate them politically.
Suppress Election Challenges: Force main opposition contenders into hiding or legal detention during the strict statutory timeframe required to file election petitions.
When state security forces can raid the home of a presidential candidate during vote counting, fatally shoot a former cabinet minister, conceal his body for five days, and reveal the truth only under the duress of a habeas corpus filing, constitutionalism is dead. The events following August 13 mark a shift away from rule of law and toward state-sanctioned militarism.