A former Zambian cabinet minister, Mutotwe Kafwaya, has been shot dead during a security operation at the home of opposition leader Mundubile following last week’s presidential election.
Police said Kafwaya, 49, was fatally wounded on Friday in Lusaka during what authorities described as an exchange of gunfire between security forces and suspected armed individuals.
Eleven people were reportedly arrested during the raid. Authorities accused Mundubile’s NRPUP party of involvement in insurgency and militia activities, as well as keeping high-grade weapons. Mundubile, who has gone into hiding, dismissed the allegations as “total fabrications.”
Official results showed incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema winning a second five-year term with 60% of the vote, while Mundubile finished with 38%. The opposition leader has rejected the result and plans to challenge it in court, alleging irregularities in the tallying process.
Mundubile said he had been unable to obtain information about Kafwaya after he was shot during the raid at his residence. Police later confirmed his death, saying security personnel had come under fire from unidentified individuals and returned fire.
Kafwaya entered parliament in 2016 and was appointed Minister for Works by then-President Edgar Lungu in 2018. He later became Transport Minister, serving until 2021 when Lungu lost the presidential election to Hichilema. Kafwaya remained an opposition lawmaker afterward.
The election was largely described as peaceful by regional and international observers, although concerns were raised over media freedom, electoral reforms and restrictions on the opposition.
The European Union election observation mission also criticised the vote-counting process, saying it deteriorated after a six-hour suspension caused by reported violence against electoral officials and alleged ballot-box theft.
The observers said some centres failed to promptly record announced results on tally sheets, while weak verification between digital and paper records and frequent delays awaiting instructions from electoral headquarters raised further concerns about the transparency of the process.
