LUSAKA, Zambia – Claims spread across Zambia on Monday saying authorities had shut High Court facilities in Lusaka, Ndola and other centres as opposition leader Brian Mundubile prepared a presidential election petition against President-elect Hakainde Hichilema.
The allegation, if substantiated, would raise serious questions about access to justice during one of Zambia's most sensitive post-election periods. Yet an important legal distinction changes the story. Zambia's Constitution sends presidential election petitions to the Constitutional Court, not the High Court. The Electoral Commission of Zambia gives the same guidance in its voter education material. Parliamentary election petitions go to the High Court. Presidential disputes go directly to the Constitutional Court.
As of publication, The African Telegraph found no public notice from the Judiciary of Zambia confirming a nationwide closure of High Court registries on Monday, and no major independent news organisation had verified a directive linking any court closure to Mundubile's planned case. Reports of closure therefore require urgent confirmation from the Judiciary, lawyers at the relevant registries and court administrators.
The timing still carries major political weight.
Electoral Commission chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis declared Hichilema president-elect at 02:41 on August 18. State House records show Hichilema received 2,965,326 votes against 1,856,217 for Mundubile. Local election reporting placed the shares at 60.49 percent and 37.87 percent. The margin exceeded 1.1 million votes.
Mundubile rejected the outcome. Reuters quoted him saying, “Our campaign has documented serious irregularities, inconsistencies and circumstances surrounding the conduct, counting, transmission and declaration of results.” He announced plans to challenge the result before the Constitutional Court.
Article 103 of Zambia's Constitution gives an aggrieved person seven days from the declaration of a president-elect to file a challenge in the Constitutional Court. Article 103 also requires the court to hear and determine the petition within 14 days after filing. Reuters reported on Friday the opposition faced a Tuesday filing deadline. The calendar therefore puts August 25 at the centre of the present dispute.
This detail matters because closing High Courts on August 24 would not, by itself, remove the constitutional route for a presidential petition. Any allegation of obstruction must address access to the Constitutional Court registry, its filing procedures and any action affecting Mundubile's lawyers or documents. If officials blocked access there, the issue would become far more serious.
The wider post-election environment already gives opposition claims a combustible backdrop.
The European Union Election Observation Mission raised concerns over transparency during tabulation. Reuters reported EU observers saw extended breaks during results tabulation in almost half of observed cases. The mission said returning officers appeared to wait for instructions from headquarters before announcing results. A heavy military presence later reduced observer access at some counting and aggregation sites.
The Electoral Commission suspended vote counting for several hours after reports of attacks on polling staff and theft of ballot papers. Counting resumed, and the commission later declared Hichilema the winner.
Security operations then widened the political crisis. Authorities arrested 11 people linked to the opposition during a raid involving gunfire while Mundubile was present. Police accused suspects of involvement in a national security threat and said officers recovered military-grade weapons. Mundubile denied involvement in an insurrection plot.
Former Transport Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya died following the security operation. His death intensified demands for an independent investigation and added pressure on Hichilema's administration.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged Zambian authorities to stop arbitrary arrests and fully respect due process for detainees. His intervention increased international attention on Zambia's post-election security response.
Mundubile and running mate Makebi Zulu later sought protection at premises linked to an international organisation in Lusaka, according to Zambian media. Police also summoned both men over alleged national security matters. Mundubile rejects those allegations.
His opposition coalition also shows signs of internal division. Tonse Alliance founder and secretary-general Chris Zumani Zimba has opposed a presidential petition, calling the move a “big mistake.” Resolute Party leader Martin Phiri separately congratulated Hichilema and ruled out his own party pursuing an election challenge.
Those divisions do not remove Mundubile's constitutional right to seek judicial review of the declared result.
The legal process serves a purpose beyond deciding who occupies the State House. A credible court hearing gives both sides a forum for evidence. Mundubile must prove his allegations. The Electoral Commission and Hichilema's side receive an opportunity to answer them. Judges then decide the dispute under law rather than political pressure, street confrontation or social media claims.
Zambia has long presented itself as one of Southern Africa's more stable electoral democracies. Hichilema himself benefited from constitutional politics after years in opposition and repeated presidential defeats before his 2021 victory. His second-term government therefore carries a special responsibility to protect institutions which allow peaceful transfers of power.
The present court-closure allegation needs fast, factual answers. The Judiciary should state which courts opened on Monday, which registries closed, who authorised any closure, why officials took such action and whether the Constitutional Court registry remained accessible throughout the day.
The opposition should also publish documentary evidence if its lawyers faced obstruction. Photographs of locked court entrances, written notices, names of affected registries, filing attempts and correspondence with court officials would move the issue from allegation toward proof.
If the Constitutional Court registry stayed open and accepted presidential petitions, claims of a government operation to stop Mundubile would lose force. If officials denied lawful access during the filing window, Zambia would face a constitutional crisis far bigger than a disputed election result.
Hichilema won a large declared majority. Such a margin gives his government every reason to allow the courts to test Mundubile's evidence in full view of the public. When leaders defend an electoral victory through transparent institutions, they strengthen legitimacy.
For Zambia, the immediate issue now goes beyond who won on August 13. The country must show whether an opposition candidate who rejects an official result still has a clear, safe and functioning route to court before the constitutional clock expires.
