Zambia closes court system on last day for vote challenges

Supporters of Zambian President elect Hakainde Hichilema celebrate his victory after the announcement of the Electoral Commission of Zambia in Lusaka, on August 18, 2026. [AFP]

Zambia closed its entire judiciary for "security reasons" Monday, the last day for the filing of court challenges to results of the presidential vote, drawing criticism from legal and rights groups.

The August 13 elections were marred by claims of intimidation, pro-government bias and restrictions on the opposition, with official results giving President Hakainde Hichilema a second term with around 60 percent.

The runner-up, opposition leader Brian Mundubile, had said he planned to lodge an objection to the results.

Mundubile went into hiding when security forces arrested 11 members of his camp the day after the vote on allegations of offences related to treason.

A former cabinet minister, Mutotwe Kafwaya, was shot and killed in the security force raid.

"For security reasons, all members of staff are advised not to report for work today," the chief administrator of the court system said in a statement.

There were reports that members of the armed forces were deployed outside courtrooms.

"The timing is impossible to ignore," said a group of leading civil society groups, noting that Monday was the expiry of a seven-day window for court challenges to be filed against the outcome of the election.

"Whether by design or otherwise, the effect of this closure is to deprive Zambians of their constitutional right to have that challenge heard, and to place the legitimacy of the entire electoral process beyond judicial scrutiny," they said.

The Law Association of Zambia demanded an explanation, saying the timing of the closure was "particularly significant in the present electoral context".

The shutdown created "a real risk" to the constitutional right of anyone seeking to petition the Constitutional Court to nullify the election, it said.

Observers say space for dissent in Zambia -- once regarded as one of Africa's most stable democracies -- has tightened under Hichilema, who took office in 2021.