Kafwaya’s whereabouts still unknown as HRC widens inquiry

The Human Rights Commission is calling on the Zambia Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to urgently clarify the whereabouts of former Lunte Member of Parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya, whose family says he has been missing since 14 August. The Commission says that if…

The Human Rights Commission is calling on the Zambia Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to urgently clarify the whereabouts of former Lunte Member of Parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya, whose family says he has been missing since 14 August.

The Commission says that if Kafwaya is in lawful state custody, his place of detention should be disclosed to ensure due process is followed without hindrance. It says he is entitled to unhindered access to his family and legal representatives under established minimum human rights standards.

The Commission has been following up on reports concerning Kafwaya’s whereabouts since Sunday, 16 August. Investigators have visited Chelstone, Matero, Lusaka Central and Kabwata police stations, where they were informed he is not in their custody.

The Zambia Police command has not provided any further information on the matter, the Commission said. As of Tuesday, 18 August, it committed to extending its inquiries to Chilenje, Twin Palm and Woodlands police stations, and to continue engaging investigators at Zambia Police Service headquarters. It has pledged to provide an update as further inquiries progress.

The Commission’s intervention follows days of conflicting accounts over Kafwaya’s condition and location, none of which have been independently verified.

The matter traces back to an armed security operation at the Kabulonga residence of presidential candidate Brian Mundubile around 14 and 15 August. NRPUP running mate Makebi Zulu alleged on social media that Kafwaya had been shot twice in the chest by military personnel and was in critical condition at Maina Soko Military Hospital. Zulu also named three other individuals he said were detained at Central Police, and said the whereabouts of others involved in the operation remained unknown.

Government swiftly and categorically denied the claim. Defence Permanent Secretary Maambo Haamaundu said the Ministry of Defence had verified with Maina Soko Military Hospital management and found no record of any patient named Kafwaya admitted there in the preceding 48 hours.

Information and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana echoed the denial, describing the circulating reports as false and warning that government was monitoring the spread of misinformation during what he called a sensitive post-election period. Kawana directly challenged Kafwaya to come forward and clarify his own whereabouts.

Kafwaya’s wife, Dinis Ngandu Kafwaya, has given her own account of the days since he disappeared. In a video statement, she said she last spoke to her husband by phone around midday on Friday, 14 August, and that by 17:00 that evening her calls to him had gone unanswered, with his phone continuing to ring without being picked up.

She has also said she was denied access when she went to Maina Soko Military Hospital to check on his condition, a claim that sits alongside, but has not resolved, the ministry’s denial that he was ever admitted there.

The family broke its public silence more fully on 16 August, when Kafwaya’s son, Mwanga Kafwaya, and his elder brother, Mugupa Musuma, speaking as family spokesperson, appealed directly to President Hakainde Hichilema for help establishing Kafwaya’s whereabouts and safety.

Mwanga said he had last spoken to his father on Wednesday, 12 August, and had had no contact with him since. He said the family’s concern was focused squarely on his father’s life, safety and location, rather than on assigning blame or engaging with speculation.

Musuma called on the President, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia Army to assist in locating Kafwaya.

Mundubile’s party, NRPUP, has separately called for an independent inquiry into the Kabulonga operation. It has demanded immediate access by lawyers, relatives, medical personnel and independent human rights monitors to anyone arrested, detained or injured during the operation, along with preservation of CCTV footage, operational logs, radio communications, weapons records, vehicle movement records and detention logs.

The party has also asked whether any extraordinary security directive or state of emergency was in force to authorise the deployment of armed personnel against political figures, a question government has not directly addressed.

Government has confirmed that 11 Tonse Alliance-aligned individuals were arrested in connection with the period surrounding the operation, saying they were found in possession of high-grade military weapons allegedly intended to threaten state security. Those named by government include Tonse Alliance presidential spokesperson George Chisanga, Patrick Mwansa, Bishop Trevor Mwamba, Simon Phiri, Richard Banda and Francis Mulenga.

Chisanga’s continued detention without charge at Chelston Police Station since 14 August has been separately confirmed by his family, who are pursuing habeas corpus proceedings through the High Court.

Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister Dickson Matembo has warned that individuals making what he called alarming claims during this period would be required to account for their statements.

As things stand, Kafwaya’s location, physical condition and legal status remain unconfirmed by any independent source. The claim that he was shot originates solely with Zulu’s social media statement and has not been corroborated; government’s denial that he was hospitalised at Maina Soko has likewise not been independently verified beyond the ministry’s own account.

The Human Rights Commission’s ongoing station-by-station search represents the first institutionally independent effort to establish where Kafwaya is, separate from the competing claims of government and opposition figures. Its next update is expected once inquiries at Chilenje, Twin Palm, Woodlands and police headquarters are complete.