Socialist Party president Dr Fred M’membe has called for a transparent and independent judicial inquiry into the conduct of the Zambia Army during and after the August 13, 2026 general elections, accusing senior military officers and elite units of overstepping the Army’s constitutional mandate.
In a statement titled “An Injustice Under Uniform: Why the Zambia Army Must Answer for the 2026 Election Violence,” M’membe said the primary duty of the Zambia Army was to defend the Republic, protect Zambia’s sovereign borders and uphold the Constitution.
He said the Constitution was the supreme law of the country and argued that every person, including state institutions, had a duty to defend it.
M’membe alleged that during the election period, elite Army units under the command of Lieutenant General Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele acted in a manner that intimidated civilians and interfered with the electoral process.
He cited the alleged presence of commandos in civilian polling spaces and accused military personnel of threatening electoral staff and interfering with opposition representatives at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
“A democracy cannot function when voters and election officials look at their own Army, not with a sense of security, but with fear,” M’membe said.
The Socialist Party leader also referred to events in Kabulonga that led to the death of former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya. He questioned the deployment of elite commandos into civilian neighbourhoods and described Kafwaya’s death as marking a serious turning point.
M’membe rejected explanations that the deployments were routine measures intended to maintain order, saying that, in his assessment, events on the ground appeared to amount to a suppression of dissent.
He named Lt Gen Zyeele, Brigadier General Moses Shapwaya and Major Lyempe Kapumpa in his statement and called for them to be held accountable over what he described as electoral overreach.
“The uniform does not grant immunity from accountability,” M’membe said.
He said reports of physical abuse, what he termed heavy-handed conduct, and the lethal escalation surrounding the election period required more than responses from Zambia Army Public Relations.
“They demand a transparent, fully independent judicial inquiry,” he said.
M’membe argued that addressing the allegations was necessary if Zambia was to protect its democratic integrity and its standing as a contributor to United Nations peacekeeping and military observer missions.
“In a free Republic, the military serves the people, not the political ambitions of those in power,” he said.
M’membe also commended the family of the late Kafwaya for what he described as their strength, dignity and commitment to peace during a difficult period. He said the orderly manner in which the family conducted the final farewell reflected respect for Kafwaya’s memory.
Reflecting more broadly on events during the year, M’membe described 2026 as an “annus horribilis”, or horrible year, and questioned how future generations would judge it.
He nevertheless cautioned against treating any section of society as entirely virtuous or entirely at fault, saying most people attempted to perform their duties as best they could even when outcomes were unsuccessful.
M’membe defended public scrutiny of institutions, saying no institution involved in public life should expect to be free from criticism and questioning.
“This sort of questioning can also act, and it should do so as an effective engine for change,” he said.
He concluded by urging Zambians not to lose hope despite what he described as difficult and uncertain circumstances.
M’membe said hope was tied to resistance, justice and collective survival and should be understood not as an abstract ideal but as a continuing practice of solidarity and education.
“Hope is a stubborn refusal to submit to injustice, unfairness, inhumanity, humiliation, repression, and loss of dignity,” he said.
Follow the story
