Ex-Zambian minister killed in security raid on opposition

Image source, National Assembly of Zambia Image caption, Mutotwe Kafwaya's death was confirmed days after a raid by security forces

A former Zambian minister was killed in last week's raid by security forces on a house linked to opposition leader Brian Mundubile a day after the presidential election, the authorities have said.

A police spokesman said Mutotwe Kafwaya was fatally wounded by law enforcement officers during what officials have described as an exchange of fire in a security operation in the capital, Lusaka, on Friday.

Eleven people were arrested in the raid, with the authorities accusing Mundubile's party, the NRPUP, of being "involved in insurgency" and "militia activity" and storing "high-grade" weapons.

Mundubile, who has since gone into hiding, rejected the allegations as "total fabrications".

According to official results, incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema won a second five-year term with a 60% share of the vote. Mundubile, who trailed behind with 38%, plans to challenge the outcome in court after alleging the tallying process had been tampered with.

Speaking about Kafwaya on Tuesday, the opposition leader said he had had no information of his whereabouts after he had been shot during the raid, which he said took place at his house.

The police confirmed Kafwaya's death late on Wednesday amid growing demands for information about him.

They said the 49-year-old was killed in a shootout during the raid by a joint security task force, adding that they encountered "gunfire and resistance from unknown individuals, resulting in [them] returning fire".

"In the process one unidentified male person was fatally wounded, and the firearm was recovered," the police said, adding that family members had subsequently identified him.

Kafwaya first become a lawmaker in 2016 and was appointed by then-President Edgar Lungu as the for minister for works in 2018 and moved to the transport ministry the following year. He served there until 2021, when Lungu lost to Hichilema in the presidential election of that year.

He continued serving as an opposition member of parliament.

Regional and international observers described the election day as largely peaceful, but raised concerns about late electoral reforms, media freedom and access to the media in the run-up to the poll.

The EU election observation mission warned at the weekend that restrictions on the opposition in the campaigning period may have contributed to an "uneven contest".

In its report on Wednesday, the observers said the results tabulation process "deteriorated significantly" once counting had resumed after a six-hour pause. The electoral commission halted the count citing violence against its staff and alleging ballot-box theft.

The EU mission said staff in many centres did not record results on tally sheets as soon as they were announced, and cited weak verification between digital entries and paper records. It added that returning officers frequently paused proceedings while awaiting instructions from headquarters.

The observers described a heavy military presence as intimidating and said it had received reports of attacks on some tallying centres.

It has called for "maximal transparency" over the poll outcome, noting that the electoral commission did not publish separate polling-station results.

The Human Rights Commission in Zambia has meanwhile called for accountability over people whose whereabouts remain unknown following arrests and security operations around the elections.

It has called for anyone being held beyond the legal period to be taken to court or released, and any alleged unlawful detentions or disappearances to be independently investigated.

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