We have written to SADC on President Hakainde Hichilema’s actions that threaten Democracy, Rule of Law and his negative and determined schemes to undermine the 2026 General Elections.
HIS EXCELLENCY ELIAS M MAGOSI
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
SADC HOUSE
CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
PRIVATE BAG 0095
GABORONE
BOTSWANA
RE; THREATS TO DEMOCRACY, AND THE HOLDING OF FREE & FAIR ELECTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
I’m a senior member of the Opposition Patriotic Front party here in Zambia. I’m a Member of the Central Committee and hold the position of Chairperson for Information and Publicity.
We wish to bring to attention serious development occurring in Zambia that requires immediate attention by the leaders of the SADC member states.
This letter has been written to the attention of both the Chairperson of SADC, His Excellency President Cyrill Ramaposa and the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, His Excellency Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika.
Various international reports including the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United States Country Report have cited Zambia for serious violations and abuse of human rights, for negative activities shrinking both the democratic and media space, the break down of the Rule of Law, the abuse of the law against political opponents and critics of government.
Zambia is scheduled to hold Presidential, Parliamentary, Mayoral, Council Chairpersons and Local Government elections in August 2026.
However, the holding of credible, democratic, free, and fair elections, is under serious threats unless the government of President Hakainde Hichilema is persuaded to abandon the course it currently is on.
As you are aware, elections are a process and most of the irregularities, infringements, violence and negative conditions occur way before the voting day.
The SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, mandates member states to hold elections using shared values that promote Democracy, respect for human rights and the Rule of Law as enshrined in the SADC Treaty signed at Windhoek, Namibia in 1992, a matter that guarantees durable peace and security in member states and the SADC region.
The Government of President Hichilema has:
1. Since 2021, banned political campaigns, protests, demonstrations, and picketing by the Opposition and other social formations. The Zambia Police uses the pretext of “security concerns” and the archaic Public Order Act to stop, arrest and prosecute those that may hold “Illegal Assembly”. Although President Hichilema promised to repeal the law whilst in Opposition, he has weaponized it together with other laws such as the colonial laws on sedition reprised to criminalize speech and criticism against government.
2. He has weaponized Law Enforcement Agencies that are being used as tools to detain, arrest and imprison political opponents. He has also effectively interfered with the Judiciary, issuing running commentaries, threats and accusations against members of the Judiciary. He has caused transfers and dismissals of those deemed, without foundation, sympathetic to the previous regime.
3. Government has passed oppressive and repressive laws that have literally taken away constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms. Among the laws passed include the Cyber Security and Crimes Acts passed in March 2025.
4. He has caused a significant purge of the civil service, dismissing, retiring or suspending professionals and with open discrimination, caused appointments of persons to man key institutions based on tribe and region.
5. He has appointed members of the UPND, the ruling party, to run the Electoral Commission of Zambia thereby depriving it of its sense of independence, objectivity and fairness.
6. President Hichilema has engaged in systematic process to steal, kill and destroy the largest political party in Zambia, the former ruling party, the Patriotic Front party.
He has installed his own surrogates as Office Bearers of the Party, displacing the legitimately and legally constituted team. He has since caused the recognition of these surrogates in Parliament masquerading as Leaders of the Opposition and illegally drawing public financial resources and fringe benefits.
Despite the overwhelming evidence that State House is behind these sponsored schemes, he alleges that this is mere factional or internal fights in the Party, a false assertion betrayed by the evidence.
7. Consequently, he has caused the banning of participation in elections of the Patriotic Front Party and causing his surrogates to enter into alliance with his Party thereby denying millions of members of the Party from their right to associate with the Party of their own choice.
8. The Party’s Secretariat located on Corner of Lumumba/Panganani Road in Lusaka, is frequently attacked and invaded by both the Zambia Police and the UPND. Party property, furniture, cars and other equipment have been frequently destroyed and damaged and personnel manning the premises have suffered brutal attacks. Since 2021, there have been several attacks on the Party Headquarters with authorities failing to arrest or prosecute anyone of the culprits.
9. President Hichilema has embarked on a constitutional-making process to negatively influence the upcoming elections. This process has been rejected by almost all stakeholders including the Law Association of Zambia, Church Mother Bodies, NGOs and Civil Society Groupings.
10. Currently, our Secretary General of the Party, Hon. Raphael Nakacinda has been jailed for a speech offences and imprisoned for 18 months. He has been denied bail pending appeal and like many of the leaders in the Opposition and critics of President Hichilema, he is also facing numerous charges, like many of our leaders and members of the Opposition suffering similar fate.
All these actions go to threaten the holding of credible, democratic, free and fair elections and if not handled will threaten Zambia’s enduring peace cherished and held for decades.
We are ready to travel to Gaborone and present evidence of the matters presented in this letter for the attention of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, responsible for promoting peace, security and stability in the region.
Yours Faithfully,
SIGNED;
Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Chairperson for Information and Publicity
Member of the Central Committee
PATRIOTIC FRONT
You have conveniently not indicated your fugitive status.
Career criminals will invariably demonise law enforcement. It’s called bias or conflict of interest.
So all this writing is a waste of time. Just go back to Lusaka and attend to your arrest warrants. They have no expiry date.
Oh, and ZANACO still want the money you stole when you worked there as a cashier.
Look at this man, he says; I’m a senior member of the Opposition Patriotic Front party here in Zambia and yet he is writing from USA. It’s a pity that someone can waste so much time writing about a problem caused by his own party possibly from his own bad advice. This problem started in 2014 after the death of Sata and what is happening now in PF is exactly what is happening now in PF after the death of Lungu. The confusion could have been worse in 2014 if Lungu had not used his own tricks or short cuts. There was no Hakainde that time, so who was threatening democracy that time if it was not PF itself? Why do you want to blame and accuse an innocent person for your own confusion of power struggle. There is no one threatening democracy in Zambia and contrary to the claim, PF is the one undermining the law at the same time threatening our democracy. If we rewind a bit, in Zambia under PF, there was no democracy at all, democracy has just come now after voting for change in 2021. It’s therefore being very illusional to accuse Hakainde of threading democracy and yet he is the person who has brought it. In case Mr. Mwamba has forgotten, after the death of Sata in 2014, PF had almost the same number of presidential aspirants as it has now and when the time for convention came, Lungu and his people broke away from the main group and went to Kabwe alone. Upon reaching there he did a quick shameful and disgraceful convention which was by far below standard anywhere in the world because it could not meet even the standards of its own party constitution. Delegates elected Lungu by a show of hands, is that the democracy Mwamba is talking about? Shame and again shame. Since there was no Hakainde that time, who was threatening democracy then? Or there was no democracy to threaten because it was not there. How do do you threaten something which is not there? The same day Lungu came back from Kabwe, some Lawyers are openly confessing that some pro PF Judges were waken up in the night to sign the Adoption Certificate and after signing it, it was issued to Lungu and people were smiling and clapping, everything was normal to them. No one among them including Mwamba was even thinking of democracy.
Coming to the current situation, after the death of Lungu, there is a very serious power struggle in PF just as it was after the death of Sata. After losing to HH, Lungu resigned as party president and retired from active politics. The window was open to hold a convention and replace him immediately just the way UPND did after the death of Mazoka. But that was not done and many people saw it and still see it as a missed opportunity by PF because that one missed opportunity has continued affecting the party up to this time. And because the vacancy for the party president was not filled in for a long time, Sampa saw a very good chance to act quickly and fill it, he organized his own convention and filled it. But whatever went wrong, Sampa was overthrown by Chabinga and Chabinga became the leader of opposition in Parliament replacing Mundubile at the same time, he became the legally registered PF Party president. So in Zambia right now, there’s no problem worth of writing to SADC, AU or UN because the problem Mwamba is talking about is entirely an intra party and it can only be solved by the PF themselves without writing to anyone. They should not let it look like a national issue when it’s purely a PF baby. They should always remember that it’s genesis is from the missed opportunity of failing to hold a convention when the sun was still shining. HH muntu wakaele, mulekeni, you failed on your own, he didn’t stop anyone. It were you who started persuading Lungu to come back to active politics, Alebwelelapo slogan started. Even when the Courts declared him ineligible, you still vowed to maintain him as your preferred candidate for 2026. So where does HH come in here? nowhere. As already alluded to, PF has been like this since the demise of Sata and accusing or blaming HH will not change anything. We know that Chabinga supports HH but that does not amount to HH destabilizing PF. Chabinga’s support is out of the developmental achievements HH has scored in his Constituency and all other Constituencies in the country. PF is destabilizing itself and has placed itself on fast self destruction mode. Therefore my free advice to PF is that;
1. Put aside your arrogance and pomp and find time to sit and talk to Chabinga, recognize him, join him and work with him just as you joined Lungu in 2014, it could be the only option for now because time is not with you. Thereafter, go for a convention as a united PF. If you don’t do that, then all the pomp and displays we have in the past few days at PF Secretariate will amount to nothing. Come 2026, Makebi Zulu, Mundubile or anyone who will elected will not appear on the ballot. Each party has only one president and as at now that president is Chabinga who will be allowed to file in the nomination papers.
2. If that option cannot work out, come up with a different party name, then register it with the Registrar of Societies and then go for a convention and elect your new president.
Well said.