Zambia’s opposition leader, Brian Mundubile, is facing a treason investigation that has placed him in police custody. It marks a sharp escalation in a political crisis that began with a disputed presidential election earlier this month.
Brian Mundubile finished as runner-up in the 13 August vote. He surrendered to police in Lusaka on Thursday after spending nearly two weeks in hiding. His running mate, Makebi Zulu, handed himself in alongside him, according to state broadcaster ZNBC.
Police confirmed in a statement that the pair were interviewed by investigators. Both men remain in custody. Officers recorded what are locally known as “warn and caution” statements from them, a step that typically comes before formal charges are laid. Details of the Brian Mundubile treason case are still emerging, and police have promised updates as the inquiry moves forward.
Godfrey Chilabi, a police spokesperson, said the statements relate to an alleged violation of Section 43(1) of the Penal Code, Chapter 87. That provision covers treason. He added that further details would follow as investigations progress.
The Brian Mundubile treason case stems from events that unfolded the day after Zambians voted. Security forces raided Mundubile’s home and other opposition sites that morning. Eleven people were arrested. A former cabinet minister, Mutotwe Kafwaya, was shot and killed during the operation, though the circumstances of his death remain disputed. Authorities claim officers were fired on first and returned fire, an account Mundubile has firmly rejected.
Following the raid, Mundubile went into hiding. He later sought shelter at a United Nations building in Lusaka, according to the opposition Tonse Alliance, the coalition that rallied behind him. He stayed there for close to two weeks. On Thursday, he and Zulu were finally handed over to police for questioning.
President Hakainde Hichilema was declared winner of the election with roughly 60 percent of the vote. Mundubile has rejected that outcome, citing what he describes as irregularities during the count. Hichilema is due to be sworn in for a second term next week, although uncertainty still lingers over a legal challenge to his victory.
That uncertainty exists partly because Mundubile never got a genuine chance to contest the outcome through the courts. Zambia’s judiciary shut its doors on Monday. It was the last valid day for filing a legal challenge against Hichilema’s win. The closure effectively blocked that route, days before the treason case emerged.
Brian Mundubile is a lawyer and accountant by training. He previously served as a provincial minister under the late President Edgar Lungu. He represented Mporokoso in parliament for close to a decade. He later became the face of the Tonse Alliance, a coalition formed by a fractured opposition camp determined to challenge Hichilema at the polls. He is 55 years old. His profile as a former ruling-party minister has made the treason case especially striking. Many Zambians remember him as an establishment figure rather than a firebrand.
Rights groups and election observer missions have voiced concern over the case. They say it sits on top of a blocked court challenge and risks damaging Zambia’s standing as one of southern Africa’s steadier democracies.
Opposition figures and civil society organisations have for years accused Hichilema’s government of narrowing the space for dissent, a criticism that intensified during his first term.
Treason carries severe penalties under Zambian law. No formal charges have been filed against either man at this stage. Police say the investigation is ongoing, and it remains unclear when, or whether, prosecutors will move to a full charge. Lawyers close to the Brian Mundubile treason case say the coming days will be pivotal in determining whether the matter proceeds to formal prosecution.
For now, Mundubile and Zulu remain in custody. Their case is another chapter in a post-election standoff that has tested Zambia’s institutions. It has also drawn international attention to how the country handles disagreements at the ballot box. Whatever direction the Brian Mundubile treason case takes next, it will likely colour how Zambians view Hichilema’s second term from its very first week. Many are now watching the courts, and the police, just as closely as the inauguration itself.
