Zambians protest at UN hours after Haimbe dismisses demonstration claims

The protesters also demanded what they described as justice for Kafwaya, whose death during a security operation on August 14 has remained one of the most contested issues arising from Zambia’s post-election period.

Their demonstration follows an earlier announcement by Mukoka that Zambians living in the United States intended to use the UN General Assembly gathering to draw international attention to Zambia’s post-election situation.

Haimbe had dismissed protest reports

Before the demonstration, Haimbe recorded a video outside the United Nations in which he rejected reports that protests against Zambia were taking place there.

The Foreign Minister said Zambia had instead received a warm welcome as its delegation participated in the General Assembly. Zambia’s Foreign Ministry also circulated his message describing reports of a protest as rumours.

Haimbe is representing President Hichilema at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The subsequent appearance of Mukoka and the other protesters therefore added a new dimension to the competing narratives surrounding Zambia’s presence at the UN gathering.

The demonstration itself was small, but the protesters were seeking to use the international gathering as a platform for issues that have dominated Zambia’s political debate since the August 13 election.

‘Free Mundubile’

Among the central demands was the release of Mundubile, Zulu and other people detained in connection with post-election criminal investigations.

Mundubile and Zulu have been in detention since August 27 and were formally charged with treason on August 29.

Their continued detention has attracted growing legal and political scrutiny, including a statement this week from the Law Association of Zambia raising broader concerns about suspects being detained for extended periods without being brought before court.

The protesters in New York carried that campaign to the UN, chanting for Mundubile’s release and displaying messages calling for the release of the detained opposition figures.

The allegations against the detainees remain matters for the legal process, and the protesters’ demand for their release does not determine the merits of the criminal cases.

Kafwaya’s death also reaches the UN

The protesters also raised the death of former Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya.

Kafwaya died during a security operation on August 14 at a property associated with Mundubile.

Authorities have said security personnel encountered armed resistance and returned fire during the operation. Opposition figures have disputed aspects of that account and demanded an independent investigation.

The Government has since said the circumstances surrounding Kafwaya’s death remain under investigation.

The issue has already attracted international attention. The European Parliament’s September 17 resolution on Zambia called for an independent and impartial investigation into Kafwaya’s death and raised wider concerns about the country’s post-election situation.

The resolution is a political position of the European Parliament and does not itself establish criminal responsibility for Kafwaya’s death.

Mwamba appears at the UN

Former Zambian Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union Emmanuel Mwamba has also appeared outside the UN headquarters, adding another element to the exchanges.

Mwamba released a video from the same general location where Haimbe had recorded his earlier message and challenged the Foreign Minister to meet him for what he described as a bilateral discussion.

Video of Mwamba calling for talks with Haimbe has also circulated publicly.

Mwamba, a Tonse Pamodzi Alliance official, has been living in the United States and has become one of the opposition voices lobbying internationally over Zambia’s post-election developments.

He said Zambians raising concerns abroad had been left with little option but to seek international attention over what he describes as the country’s post-election crisis.

That is Mwamba’s characterisation of the situation. The Government has rejected broader claims that Zambia is experiencing a breakdown in constitutional governance and maintains that criminal investigations and prosecutions should be allowed to proceed according to law.

Passport cancellation adds another dimension

Mwamba is himself directly affected by one of the Government actions that has attracted international attention.

His passport was among six cancelled by the Government under Gazette Notice No. 1421 of 2026, published on September 11. The other affected individuals were former MPs Emmanuel Jay Banda and Binwell Mpundu, academic Sishuwa Sishuwa, Peter Kaiser Zulu and Lillian Mutambo. The Government cited security reasons in the interest of national security.

Amnesty International subsequently criticised the cancellations, arguing that the use of administrative powers in this way raised freedom-of-movement concerns.

The Government’s stated position, however, remains that the passports were cancelled on national-security grounds.

Two competing messages from New York

The developments have effectively produced two different messages around Zambia’s participation at the UN General Assembly.

Inside the UN, Haimbe is representing the Zambian Government and promoting the country’s diplomatic and development agenda.

Outside, a small group of Zambians is attempting to draw international attention to Kafwaya’s death, the detention of opposition figures and other post-election concerns.

Mwamba’s presence has added a third element by directly challenging Haimbe to engage with those raising the concerns.

The number of protesters may be small, but their objective appears to be less about demonstrating numerical strength in New York and more about placing Zambia’s domestic political disputes before an international audience gathered for the General Assembly.

That was precisely what Mukoka said the planned demonstration was intended to achieve when he announced it earlier this week.

The protest has now happened.

And after Haimbe’s earlier dismissal of reports of demonstrations at the UN, the competing videos from New York have themselves become part of Zambia’s continuing post-election political debate.