Zambia : Kafwaya's Death Reaches The Hague For A Second Time

Second ICC complaint over Kafwaya killing names Zyeele, Shapwaya, seeks probe into Hichilema’s role

A second formal complaint has been lodged with the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the August killing of Mutotwe Kafwaya, a former Zambian cabinet minister shot dead during a security operation at the home of a presidential candidate.

The submission, dated September 7, names Lieutenant General Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele, commander of the Zambian Army, and Brigadier General Moses Shapwaya, reported to be associated with a special forces command unit, as the leaders of the operation that resulted in Mr Kafwaya’s death. It also asks the court to investigate whether President Hakainde Hichilema authorised or directed the security forces’ actions — an allegation the complaint makes, not a finding the court has reached.

Mr Kafwaya was killed on August 14 during a joint security forces raid on a private residence in the Kabulonga neighbourhood of Lusaka. The property belonged to Brian Mundubile, a presidential candidate for the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Progress (NRPUP). Mr Mundubile has said he personally witnessed Mr Kafwaya being shot twice during the assault.

For five days, government did not confirm Mr Kafwaya’s identity or whereabouts, despite pleas from his family and political allies. His wife, Dinis Ng’andu Kafwaya, initiated habeas corpus proceedings in the High Court to compel authorities to produce him. Government acknowledged his death on August 19, with Inspector General of Police Graphel Musamba confirming that Mr Kafwaya was the unidentified man fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire.

The new complaint goes further than the initial outcry from opposition figures and human rights groups. It explicitly requests an independent investigation into the origins, manner and chain of command behind the use of lethal force. It alleges that Lt Gen Zyeele and Brig Gen Shapwaya acted on instructions originating from the President or other senior government authorities, and calls on the court to establish, through documentary evidence, communications and witness testimony, whether President Hichilema authorised the operation.

Lt Gen Zyeele has been a prominent figure throughout the election period. In June, he drew criticism for stating that the army would police the country before, during and after the polls, a remark civil society groups described as unconstitutional at the time.

The killing occurred against a backdrop of wider post-election turmoil. Opposition parties have alleged that the vote was rigged in favour of President Hichilema, who was declared the winner for a second term. In the days following the election, security forces arrested at least 11 people, including several opposition figures, on treason charges.

Amnesty International has called on Zambian authorities to conduct an independent investigation into Mr Kafwaya’s death, noting that it followed a series of arbitrary arrests and detentions of opposition members. The rights group has urged government to provide full information to the family and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

The filing of a second ICC complaint suggests that domestic avenues for accountability are viewed as insufficient by a section of Zambians. Citizens First party president Harry Kalaba has been among the most vocal proponents of ICC intervention, saying international institutions should provide support to the family in its pursuit of justice.

Zambia is a state party to the Rome Statute, which gives the ICC jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed on its territory. Whether the complaint meets that threshold, and whether the court takes it up, remains to be determined by the ICC itself.

For now, the unanswered questions around Mr Kafwaya’s death sit alongside the broader detention of opposition figures as one of the defining disputes of the post-election period, with the family’s pursuit of accountability now extending from Zambia’s own courts to an international one.

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