<\/p>\n
The organisation documented 14 apparent enforced disappearances, 61 alleged beatings and other violent abuses and 71 potentially politically motivated arrests or prolonged detentions without charge.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The findings appear in the Report, Zambia: Widespread Repression in Post-Election Crackdown.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Channel Africa on Monday, HRW Africa Advocacy Director Allan Ngari said the research was based on interviews and court documents. \u201cAn election victory gives a government authority to govern, but it does not give security forces permission to abuse people,\u201d Ngari said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Opposition supporters, lawyers, journalists and other government critics were among those allegedly targeted by police and military personnel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ngari said the crackdown created fear extending beyond those detained or assaulted. \u201cWhen people fear punishment for political participation, public debate and scrutiny suffer,\u201d Ngari said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch said authorities cordoned off courts on August 24, the deadline for challenging the presidential election results.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some people intending to file election petitions were reportedly detained. \u201cA government cannot urge people to resolve disputes peacefully through courts while denying people the opportunity to use those courts,\u201d Ngari said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The organisation also called for an independent investigation into the killing of Opposition Leader Mutoto Kafuya.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Police reportedly described Kafuya\u2019s death as resulting from an exchange of gunfire, while opposition figures provided a different account.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe circumstances remain contested,\u201d Ngari said. \u201cWhat matters is an independent investigation rather than presenting either account as conclusively established.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ngari said Zambia\u2019s Constitution and laws provided sufficient mechanisms to investigate the killing if responsible institutions were allowed to operate without political interference.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
HRW urged law-enforcement and prosecution authorities to investigate alleged abuses and ensure that anyone responsible faced accountability. \u201cProtecting rights is essential for public confidence,\u201d Ngari said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The organisation said Zambia\u2019s government should demonstrate commitment to the rule of law through the treatment of detainees, the independence of courts and credible investigations into alleged abuses.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":42349,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-49884","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Zambian security forces forcibly disappeared, detained and assaulted opposition members and government critics around the August 2026 elections, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.","published_date":"","news_description":"Zambian security forces forcibly disappeared, detained and assaulted opposition members and government critics around the August 2026 elections, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49886,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49884\/revisions\/49886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=49884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}