Global Witness report accusing FQM of covertly funding UPND meets scepticism as company denies claims

A report published by London-based investigative organisation Global Witness alleging that First Quantum Minerals ran a long-running covert influence campaign in Zambia, including offering as much as US$50 million toward President Hakainde Hichilema‘s political party, has drawn sharp pushback from Zambian commentators and a categorical denial from the mining company itself, even as legal experts argue the claims deserve independent scrutiny.

The 36-page report, titled “How a Canadian mining giant infiltrated Zambia’s democracy,” alleges that First Quantum Minerals and associated individuals provided financial support to the United Party for National Development across several election cycles, making it, in the organisation’s telling, the party’s most prominent funder ahead of the 2026 general election. Global Witness says it interviewed government insiders, businesspeople close to the President, current and former FQM employees, political actors, diplomats and civil society representatives, and supported its findings with public records and documents.

The organisation states explicitly, however, that it has no evidence FQM engaged in corruption and does not allege that any of the described conduct was illegal. Editorial columns published in both News Diggers and Times of Zambia seized on that admission, arguing the report’s central claims rest largely on unnamed insiders and one named individual, former diplomat Emmanuel Mwamba, without producing bank transfers, receipts or other verifiable transaction records to substantiate its most serious allegation, that FQM promised a US$50 million cash donation.

“The report is shouting ‘evidence’ in the headline but whispers ‘sources said’ in the body,” one of the columns argued, questioning why Global Witness, an organisation funded partly by Norway, a major oil and gas producing state, chose to publish the findings mere weeks before Zambians go to the polls. The commentary also noted that the report acknowledges fiscal reforms coincided with major new investment, increased copper production, and roughly US$902 million paid to government in 2025, figures the columns argue undercut the narrative of a captured state.

First Quantum Minerals categorically rejects the report’s claims. The company says it has never paid or authorised bribes, never engaged in illicit party funding, never funded UPND and never promised to finance its 2026 campaign, describing the allegations as based on unsubstantiated speculation from anonymous individuals rather than verifiable facts.

Not every Zambian commentator dismissed the report outright. In a “Legally Speaking” column, constitutional law academic Prof Cephas Lumina wrote that the allegations, while unproven, are “too serious to dismiss” and require independent investigation in both Zambia and Canada, where FQM is incorporated. He argued that Canadian authorities, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and relevant securities regulators, should examine whether any funds, benefits or disclosures connected to the alleged conduct breached Canadian law, adding that Canada’s foreign bribery legislation can apply to qualifying conduct by Canadian companies abroad even though the allegations themselves do not prove an offence occurred.

Lumina used the controversy to highlight what he described as a deeper structural problem: nearly five years into its term, the UPND government has still not enacted the campaign finance regime required under Article 60(4) of the Constitution, which mandates legislation establishing a Political Parties’ Fund, party accounts, funding disclosure and spending limits. He called for reviving and strengthening the Draft Political Parties Bill of 2017, which had proposed a Political Parties Board and Registrar along with mandatory annual reporting and audited accounts, arguing that without such a framework “the country cannot readily determine who financed a governing party, how much was contributed and through which intermediaries.”

The report also touches on Zambia’s mining tax regime, estimating that changes to the mineral royalty structure and deductibility rules saved FQM subsidiaries approximately US$771 million between 2022 and 2025, and saved mining companies collectively more than US$1 billion over a similar period. Lumina argued this raises separate but related questions about fair taxation, suggesting government should publish the value of major mining incentives, their intended benefits and whether commitments attached to them were met, and consider a windfall tax given the recent rise in copper prices.

UPND spokespersons have previously stated that President Hichilema’s campaign is financed locally. Lumina argued that if this remains the party’s position, it should publish a donor register and independently audited campaign accounts to allow citizens to evaluate the allegations against verifiable evidence rather than competing claims.

Neither the Zambian government nor First Quantum Minerals had issued a formal joint response addressing all elements of the report by the time of publication, though FQM’s rejection of the core funding allegation has been widely reported. Civil society organisations in both Zambia and Canada are calling for mandatory disclosure of political donations, parliamentary scrutiny of mining agreements, and tighter rules governing movement between government and mining company personnel.

The controversy arrives at a politically sensitive moment, with the allegations surfacing weeks before an election in which UPND is seeking a second term and mining policy, including tax treatment of major operators such as FQM, has featured prominently in campaign debate.

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