Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema is set to be sworn in for a second five-year term.
President Hakainde Hichilema is set to be sworn in on Tuesday following a deeply disputed election. Official results gave him a decisive 60% of the vote, leaving his main rival, Brian Mundubile, with 38%.
Mundubile alleged the outcome was tampered with. When his team tried to mount a legal challenge, they found the courthouse doors literally sealed off on the final day a case could be filed.
International observers also raised red flags. The European Union noted that staff in many tallying centers failed to record results on paper sheets as soon as they were announced, pointing to weak verification between digital entries and physical records.
The aftermath of the vote has been brutal. The day after the polls closed, security forces raided a property in the capital, Lusaka, linked to Mundubile. A former cabinet minister was killed, and several opposition politicians were arrested. Authorities accused the opposition of planning an armed insurrection, a claim they strongly deny.
Mundubile and his running mate went into hiding, seeking protection, before being detained by police last week and formally charged with treason over the weekend.
This political crackdown stands in stark contrast to Hichilema’s first-term record. When the 64-year-old former businessman took office in 2021, he inherited what he described as a “broken-down country” with defaulted international debt and inflation soaring past 24%.
SEE ALSO: Zambia Detains Main Opposition Leader Brian Mundubile Over Treason Allegations
Over the last five years, he successfully negotiated debt restructuring and rebuilt ties with foreign creditors. Inflation has come down, though everyday citizens still struggle with the high cost of living.
“We inherited a broken-down country… the economy was declining,” Hichilema told reporter’s before the election, vowing to build on the foundations he laid.
The swearing-in ceremony will go ahead. The speeches will be made. But as the new term begins, the glaring absence of the main opposition leader serves as a stark reminder a country cannot truly move forward when half its political voice is locked behind bars.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
