Zambia Confronts Political Upheaval After Stoning of President Hichilema in Chingola

⬆️ Zambia Confronts Political Upheaval After Stoning of President Hichilema in Chingola

Zambia is in its most serious security confrontation in years after President Hakainde Hichilema came under attack during a visit to Chiwempala Market in Chingola on Saturday. Stones were hurled at the Head of State. His tent was burned.

A police vehicle was torched. State intelligence units are now reviewing videos, photographs and digital communications to determine whether the incident was spontaneous or organised.

The gravity of the attack has cut across Zambia’s political divide.

Sunday Chanda issued the bluntest warning yet. “Such attacks must be condemned by every citizen,” he said, calling the stoning “a threat to the rule of law and the dignity of our nation.” He demanded a full, public investigation and a security overhaul, adding that “any imminent threat to the life of the President is intolerable and must attract swift and decisive consequences.”

John Sangwa echoed the alarm. He called the Chingola violence “a betrayal of the Republic’s founding values” and said it revealed “a deeper national crisis marked by the erosion of public trust and the weakening of state institutions.”

Sangwa urged the country to pull back from escalation as Zambia moves toward the 2026 elections, warning that political temper and institutional fragility are converging at a dangerous moment.

Civil society groups have also broken ranks with the street anger. The Governance and Development Advocates Zambia described the attack as “shameful and unpatriotic.”

Executive director Elias Mulenga said, “You don’t stone a nation’s peace. The Presidency symbolises the unity and dignity of every Zambian.” He urged police to track all participants and pressed youths to abandon “acts that endanger public order.”

Even within the opposition, condemnation has been direct. PF supporter Chomba Kaoma said, “If you cannot respect Hichilema as an individual, at least respect the office he holds.” Kaoma argued that the President “chose humiliation over bloodshed” when he refused to authorise force during the breach. He warned that citizens often “underestimate the extent to which the system can go when it comes to protecting the President.”

President Hichilema addressed the province hours later at a UPND fundraising dinner in Ndola, telling Copperbelt residents that Zambia must not “go back to thuggery.” He said the country is adjusting to a different way of governance, one based on order rather than patronage. “I know Zambians have not been used to this style of management,” he said. “But you will be okay. I can see where we are going.”

The President used a personal memory to underline the danger of political violence. He recalled being attacked in Ndola as an opposition leader when cadres stormed a radio station where he was being interviewed, forcing him to escape through a window. He said that history must not repeat itself.

Police and intelligence officers are under pressure to produce a credible investigation. Social media footage shows groups of youths throwing stones, burning property and shouting as the presidential protection unit attempted to extract the Head of State.

Investigators are mapping digital activity to determine whether local criminal groups, political actors or paid agitators were involved.

The Chingola attack has become a national test. It raises questions about the stability of Zambia’s political environment, the capacity of the state to protect its institutions and the conduct of political actors in a season of rising tension.

As one senior official put it privately, “This was not hooliganism. This crossed into an assault on the state.”

© The People’s Brief | Gathering —Mwape Nthegwa; Drafting —Goran Handya; Filing —Ollus R. Ndomu