Zambians take post-election crisis to UNGA, to protest in New York
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NewsNEW YORK – Zambia’s post-election political dispute is set to reach the streets of New York this week, with Zambians living in the United States planning demonstrations outside the United Nations headquarters during the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Governance activist Augustin Mukoka says Zambians are preparing to use the gathering of world leaders and […]
Augustin Mukoka
President Hichilema
NEW YORK – Zambia’s post-election political dispute is set to reach the streets of New York this week, with Zambians living in the United States planning demonstrations outside the United Nations headquarters during the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Governance activist Augustin Mukoka says Zambians are preparing to use the gathering of world leaders and diplomats to make what he describes as a statement to the international community over Zambia’s post-August 13 political situation.
The planned demonstrations have also been reported by Channel Africa, which says Zambians living in the United States are planning protests outside the UN headquarters in New York during the General Assembly.
Mukoka says the organisers intend to present their concerns directly to the international community, including a statement to Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe and the United Nations General Assembly.
Hichilema sends Haimbe to UNGA
The protests will take place as Zambia’s Government conducts its own diplomatic engagement at the same UN gathering.
President Hakainde Hichilema will not attend the General Assembly in person. Instead, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Mulambo Haimbe is representing him at UNGA81.
According to Zambia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Haimbe arrived in New York on September 20 and will deliver Zambia’s National Statement on behalf of President Hichilema during the High-Level General Debate on September 28.
Haimbe is accompanied by Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi and senior Government officials.
The Zambian delegation says its UNGA agenda includes advancing the Grow Zambia Agenda, mobilising development finance and investment, strengthening international partnerships and seeking support for Zambia’s candidature for the UN Human Rights Council for 2027–2029.
Haimbe is also expected to reaffirm Zambia’s stated commitment to constitutionalism, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights.
This creates an unusual backdrop to the planned demonstrations: the Government will be presenting Zambia’s position inside the UN system while critics say they will be presenting a competing account outside the UN headquarters.
What are the protesters demanding?
Mukoka says the planned action will focus on four major demands.
Release Mundubile, Makebi and 16 others
The organisers are demanding the release of Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and 16 others who are facing treason-related proceedings.
The demand comes as the cases involving opposition figures continue through the Zambian legal system.
The protesters are presenting the continued detention of the opposition figures as one of the issues they want the international community to take note of.
Justice for Mutotwe Kafwaya
The death of former Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya is another central issue.
Mukoka’s statement describes Kafwaya as having been “killed by the military” and calls for justice.
That wording represents the organisers’ position and should not be treated as an established finding.
Government has said the circumstances surrounding Kafwaya’s death on August 14 remain under investigation. In its recent response to the European Parliament resolution on Zambia, Government said the investigation is being conducted by Zambia Police with independent oversight by the Human Rights Commission.
The competing accounts surrounding Kafwaya’s death remain one of the most contentious issues arising from the post-election period.
Constitutional concerns
The protesters are also demanding what Mukoka describes as “protection of the Zambian Constitution from being raped.”
The phrase is Mukoka’s wording.
The underlying demand is for international attention to what the organisers regard as violations of constitutional governance and democratic principles.
The issue comes amid an expanding debate involving Government, opposition parties, civil society organisations and international institutions over the country’s post-election political environment.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on September 17 addressing Zambia’s post-electoral situation, while Government subsequently rejected several of the resolution’s conclusions as premature and called for engagement with European Union institutions.
Six cancelled passports
The fourth demand concerns the cancellation of passports belonging to six Zambians.
Mukoka says the organisers want the passports reinstated, arguing that the affected individuals were singled out because of their political opinions.
Government has said the passport cancellations were undertaken on national-security grounds.
The issue has already become part of the wider debate over civil liberties and the use of state powers following the election.
Why take the protest to New York?
The choice of New York is significant.
The UN General Assembly brings together heads of state, heads of government, foreign ministers and diplomats from around the world.
For the protesters, it provides an opportunity to place Zambia’s post-election political dispute before an international audience at precisely the same time that the Zambian Government is presenting its own national priorities.
The 81st General Assembly is being held under the theme “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All.”
Mukoka says the organisers will also seek to present their statement to Haimbe and the UNGA.
Two narratives, one international stage
The New York developments mean that Zambia’s post-election debate is no longer confined to Lusaka and the country’s political institutions.
Inside the UN system, Zambia’s delegation will be promoting its development, diplomatic and governance priorities.
Outside the UN headquarters, protesters say they intend to draw attention to what they describe as political repression, constitutional violations, the detention of opposition figures, the death of Kafwaya and the cancellation of passports.
The competing narratives will unfold against a backdrop in which the Government says Zambia remains committed to constitutionalism and the rule of law, while critics continue to call for greater international scrutiny.
Zambian Eye will follow both the Government’s engagement at UNGA and the planned demonstrations in New York.
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