Ex Zambian govt minister killed in security raid on opposition: police

Zambian police confirmed Wednesday that a former cabinet minister was shot and killed in a security force raid on the home of the main opposition leader after last week's elections.

The operation was a day after the August 13 vote which handed President Hakainde Hichilema a second term with 60 percent of ballots, according to the electoral authority.

The cabinet said last week the raid targeted a suspected militia posing "a serious threat to State security" and 11 people were rounded up.

Opposition leader Brian Mundubile, the runner-up in the poll, said it took place at his house and parliamentarian Mutotwe Kafwaya was struck by gunfire, but he had no news of him since.

Mundubile, who went into hiding afterwards, rejected suggestions that his NRPUP alliance was "involved in insurgency, militia activity or any related conduct whatsoever."

After growing demands from Kafwaya's family for information, the police confirmed in a statement late Wednesday that he was killed in the joint task force operation.

Security forces met with "gunfire and resistance from unknown individuals, resulting in the task force returning fire", it said.

"In the process one unidentified male person was fatally wounded, and the firearm was recovered."

Among the 11 people arrested were three ex-commandos with "extensive military experience", it said.

Mundubile has said the people rounded up included members of his security detail and opposition figures.

Kafwaya, 49, was a minister in the 2016-2021 government led by the Patriotic Front, a rival to Hichilema's UPND.

He was an opposition parliamentarian during Hichilema's first term from 2021 to 2026.

According to results announced by the electoral commission, Mundubile came second to Hichilema with around 38 percent of votes.

Mundubile said Wednesday his campaign had noted "serious irregularities" and will challenge the result through the courts.

International observers have said the vote was marred by opposition claims of intimidation, arrests, abductions and violence.

The United Nations rights chief, Volker Turk, on Wednesday urged the Zambian authorities "to stop arresting people arbitrarily and to uphold fully the due process rights of all those detained."