Zambia arrests eleven as the presidential count runs under a raid allegation
Security forces arrested eleven people, including senior opposition figures, over an alleged insurrection plot while early results put Hakainde Hichilema ahead. Brian Mundubile denies the charges and says armed men raided his Lusaka home during the tally.
Geopolitics··Evening
Eleven arrests over an alleged insurrection plot
Zambia's government said security forces seized weapons and arrested eleven people, including senior opposition figures, over an alleged insurrection plot tied to Thursday's presidential election. Patrick Kangwa, the country's top civil servant, said Brian Mundubile, the leading opposition candidate, was also found at the scene of a raid in the capital, Lusaka. Kangwa told reporters those arrested were linked to military plans involving foreign nationals and illegal training camps, carried high-grade weapons and ammunition, and that shots were fired at law enforcement officers before an exchange of fire. Among those detained is Patrick Mwansa, husband of Tasila Lungu, daughter of former president Edgar Lungu. Mundubile dismissed the accusations to the BBC as total fabrications.[1]
Mundubile's account of the raid at his home
Mundubile told the BBC there was no militia at his home, that an armoured vehicle knocked down the gate and officers fired indiscriminately, and that former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot and his whereabouts are unknown. His party, the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, said armed men entered his Lusaka home on Friday night and wounded a member of parliament. The party said the men were believed to be Zambian military, fired ammunition and forcibly removed several people from the house. Al Jazeera reported that Zambian authorities had not responded when it published. Mundubile said no political language can sanitise what happened.[1], [2]
Early results and observer reactions during the tally
With results announced from more than half of the constituencies, President Hakainde Hichilema leads with about 59 per cent to Mundubile's 33 per cent, according to Al Jazeera's tally report. A candidate needs more than half the vote to win outright. The electoral commission said security threats during tallying had been brought under control. An European Union observer mission called a suspension of counting disproportionate. Observers had described polling day as largely peaceful while raising concerns about late electoral changes and access to the media, the BBC noted in its earlier reporting on the arrests. Opposition figures challenge both the security narrative and the official account of events at Mundubile's home.[2], [1]
