Zambia courts close on last day for vote challenges

Zambia closed its entire judiciary for “security reasons” on Monday, the final day for filing court challenges to the presidential election result, drawing criticism from legal and rights groups.

Official results from the August 13 election gave President Hakainde Hichilema a second term with around 60 percent of the vote. Brian Mundubile, the opposition leader who finished runner-up, had said he planned to lodge an objection to the result.

The chief administrator of the court system said in a statement that, for security reasons, all staff were advised not to report for work.

A group of civil society organisations said the timing was impossible to ignore and argued that the closure risked depriving Zambians of their constitutional right to have an election challenge heard. The Law Association of Zambia demanded an explanation, saying the timing was particularly significant and created a real risk for anyone seeking to petition the Constitutional Court to nullify the election.

Mundubile went into hiding after security forces arrested 11 members of his camp the day after the vote on allegations of offences related to treason. Former cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot and killed in the raid.