Zambia’s continued detention of opposition leader Xavier Chungu is drawing growing international concern, with the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy warning that the case is damaging the country’s democratic reputation abroad.

MMD acting president Gaston Sichilima said Amnesty International’s decision to launch a worldwide campaign demanding Chungu’s release should alarm every Zambian, describing the intervention of one of the world’s most respected human rights organisations as a matter that should concern every citizen.

Chungu has been in detention for almost two months on national security related charges. Sichilima said the case had moved beyond a domestic legal matter and had become one of national and international concern.

“The continued detention of an opposition leader is now a matter of national and international concern. The world is watching. More importantly, the Zambian people are watching,” Sichilima said in a statement.

The MMD leader said Zambia had built a reputation over the years as a beacon of democracy and constitutionalism on the continent, and that this standing should not be diminished by how the case was handled.

“No democracy is strengthened by the prolonged detention of political opponents where legitimate questions are raised about due process,” Sichilima said.

He raised specific concerns about the denial of bail to Chungu, arguing that it carried wider implications for freedom of expression and political participation in the country. Sichilima said opposition figures and ordinary citizens alike were watching closely to see whether due process would be respected in politically sensitive cases.

The MMD acting president stopped short of demanding Chungu’s immediate release outright, instead calling on government to ensure the law took its course transparently and fairly. He said that, where possible, Chungu should be freed as he awaits trial.

Sichilima said his party retained confidence in the Judiciary and urged the courts to handle the matter expeditiously and impartially, rather than allowing it to drag on.

“Justice delayed weakens public confidence. Democracy flourishes with dialogue, not detention,” he said.

The MMD’s intervention comes at a politically charged moment, with Zambia’s general election just over a week away. Opposition parties across the political spectrum have used the pre-election period to scrutinise government’s handling of dissent and the treatment of political opponents, arguing that public confidence in democratic institutions depends on how such cases are resolved.

Sichilima’s remarks placed particular emphasis on the reputational cost to Zambia internationally. He argued that the mobilisation of a body such as Amnesty International around a single detention case was itself significant, regardless of the eventual outcome of the prosecution.

The MMD has not detailed what specific legal irregularities it believes have occurred in Chungu’s case, focusing instead on the broader principle that prolonged pre-trial detention of a political figure invites scrutiny that a functioning democracy should be able to withstand through transparent process rather than extended confinement.

Government has not yet issued a public response to the MMD’s statement or to the Amnesty International campaign referenced by Sichilima

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