Police confirm Mutotwe Kafwaya dead after Kabulonga shootout

Reports surrounding Kafwaya’s fate first emerged after the security operation at Mundubile’s residence.

Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, had alleged that heavily armed security personnel raided the property and that Kafwaya was shot during the incident.

Mundubile later said he personally witnessed Kafwaya being shot twice.

Government initially rejected reports that Kafwaya had been shot or admitted to Maina Soko Military Hospital. The Defence Ministry had said checks at the military hospital found no record of Kafwaya being admitted.

The Human Rights Commission subsequently began inquiries into Kafwaya’s whereabouts, including checks at several police stations, after his family reported that they had been unable to establish where he was being held. As recently as August 19, reports indicated that his whereabouts remained officially unclear.

Police now say he was killed in exchange of fire

According to the latest confirmation from IG Musamba, Kafwaya was among those caught up in the armed confrontation at Mundubile’s residence and was fatally shot during what police describe as an exchange of fire.

The police account is significant because the government had previously confirmed that a security operation took place at the property and that shots were fired, resulting in an exchange of fire between law enforcement personnel and occupants of the premises.

Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa had earlier said the operation resulted in the apprehension of suspected militia members and other persons of interest, with government alleging that high-grade military weapons, ammunition and other materials were recovered.

The State has maintained that the operation was linked to threats to national security.

High Court order brings case into focus

The confirmation comes as Kafwaya’s family was pursuing habeas corpus proceedings before the High Court.

His wife, Dinis Ng’andu Kafwaya, had sought the court’s intervention over his continued detention, saying she had been unable to establish his whereabouts or secure confirmation of his condition.

The court proceedings had therefore placed the State under increasing pressure to account for Kafwaya.

The confirmation of his death now raises a new set of questions over when, where and how Kafwaya died, who fired the fatal shots, and what happened to his remains after the reported security operation.

A politically explosive development

Kafwaya was not simply a former government minister. He was a senior figure in the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance, the political grouping that backed Mundubile’s presidential campaign.

His reported death therefore comes amid an already highly contentious post-election period in which the opposition has accused security agencies of excessive force and the government has accused individuals linked to the opposition of posing a threat to state security.

Reuters previously reported that the government acknowledged an armed operation at Mundubile’s residence and said shots had been fired from the premises, leading to an exchange of fire. The government also said several opposition-linked individuals were arrested.

The opposition, however, has disputed the government’s characterisation of the operation and has demanded accountability for those injured, detained or allegedly missing.

Key questions now facing authorities

With Kafwaya’s death now confirmed, attention is likely to turn to several critical questions:

• Who fired the shots that killed Kafwaya?
• What was the exact sequence of events during the exchange of fire?
• What weapons were recovered from the scene?
• Was Kafwaya armed at the time of the incident?
• Why was his death not disclosed earlier?
• Where has his body been kept since the incident?
• Was an autopsy conducted?
• Were his family and lawyers informed of his death?
• How does his death affect the ongoing criminal investigations?
• What evidence does the State have concerning the alleged armed confrontation?

These questions are likely to become central to demands for an independent investigation into the Kabulonga operation.

The confirmation of Kafwaya’s death also transforms what had been a disappearance and detention controversy into a potentially major accountability case involving Zambia’s security agencies and one of the country’s leading opposition political alliances.

This is a developing story. Further details are expected from the Zambia Police Service, the family and the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance.