Socialist Party president Dr Fred M'membe has formally written to the Director of Public Prosecutions demanding that the High Court order an inquest into the death of former Transport Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya, three months after the former Lunte lawmaker was shot dead during a State security operation in Kabulonga, Lusaka.
In a letter delivered by hand to the National Prosecution Authority on Wednesday 11 November 2026 and stamped as received, Dr M'membe asked the DPP to apply under section 33 of the Inquests Act so that a court finally examines the force that ended Mr Kafwaya's life on 14 August 2026, a day after the general election. According to LusakaTimes.com, which published the full text of the letter, no inquest has been opened to this day.
Three months, not a single day in court
Let that sink in, fellow Zambians. A former Cabinet minister is shot dead by our own security forces, and 90 days later no court has asked the most basic question of any civilized nation: was that killing lawful?
The Inspector General of Police only confirmed on 19 August that Mr Kafwaya had been fatally wounded during the joint operation. A postmortem examination was carried out, but its findings have never been made public, and the family says it was blocked from having its own pathologist present. As far as the public knows, no officer involved has been named, suspended or charged.
Compare that with the speed the State showed against everyone else in that house. By 16 August, the Government had already announced that eleven people present at the property had been arrested and would face charges. One law for the powerful, another for the powerless.
„Three months later, the force that ended Hon. Kafwaya's life has not been examined by any court. The law must apply to all,“ said Dr M'membe.
What does Zambian law actually say?
The law here is not complicated, and that is the point. Section 4 of the Inquests Act says a coroner who is credibly informed of a violent or unnatural death must hold an inquest as soon as practicable. Section 12 obliges any police officer who becomes aware of such a death to notify a coroner.
The only legal reason to postpone an inquest is section 6, which applies where someone has been, or is about to be, charged with the murder or manslaughter of the deceased. Nobody has been charged over Mr Kafwaya's death. So nothing in the Act stands in the way.
Where a coroner has failed to act, section 33(1)(a) allows the High Court, on an application made by or under the authority of the DPP, to order an inquest. That is exactly the step Dr M'membe is demanding from DPP Gilbert Phiri.
At the heart of the letter sits the right to life. Article 12 of our Constitution protects it and permits force only to the extent reasonably justifiable in the circumstances. Zambia is also bound by the African Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which require the State to investigate any death caused by its agents promptly, independently and transparently.
„Whether that standard was met in Kabulonga is a question that only an open judicial inquiry can properly answer,“ Dr M'membe wrote.
Three demands on the table
Dr M'membe's letter makes three requests. First, that the DPP make or authorise an application to the High Court for the inquest. Second, that the office establish from the Inspector General whether a coroner was ever notified of the death, and on what date. Third, that the postmortem and ballistic reports be released to the family and their lawyers without further delay.
The opposition leader framed his appeal around the constitutional independence of the office, citing Article 180(7), which says the DPP is subject to no person or authority and must act in the public interest.
„I ask nothing of it on behalf of my party. I ask only that the law be followed. The family of Hon. Kafwaya, and the people of Zambia, look to your office to act without fear or favour,“ he wrote.
An office already deep in the aftermath
The request lands on the desk of DPP Gilbert Phiri, who is personally leading the prosecution of opposition figures Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and 16 others, arrested after the 14 August operations on charges relating to treason, sedition and terrorism. Mr Kafwaya's death has already surfaced in those proceedings; defence lawyer Sakwiba Sikota told the Lusaka High Court that Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu fled to a United Nations facility because they feared for their lives after shootings at their homes and the former minister's death.
The authorities insist the Kabulonga operation was lawful, claiming those arrested were involved in an insurrection plot and that military-grade weapons were recovered. Yet they have never publicly explained how Mr Kafwaya came to be shot. That silence speaks louder than any press briefing.
Nor is the pressure coming from one corner only. Former Cabinet minister Given Lubinda has called for an independent inquest. In September the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging independent and impartial investigations, a call the Government brushed off as premature. We do not need Brussels to tell us Zambian blood matters, but it should embarrass us that foreigners are asking the questions our own institutions refuse to ask.
Dr M'membe also asked the Human Rights Commission, which the Government says is overseeing the police investigation, to publish what it has found, and called on the Church, the legal profession and all political parties to unite behind one demand: that the law be followed. He urged President Hakainde Hichilema, as Head of State, to let the law take its course, repeating words he first wrote on 20 August.
„No crime can be committed in the name of elections or law enforcement. I say it again,“ he said.
For the widow, Dinis Ng'andu Kafwaya, and her children, the questions are the same as in August: how he died, who fired, and whether that force was lawful. The Zambian Observer notes that almost three months on, no inquest has been opened and the postmortem findings remain hidden from the family.
Even the dead have not been allowed peace. The Zambian Eye reported that the Bemba Royal Establishment protested a reported hunt for Kafwaya's grave, an insult to tradition that the government claims to know nothing about, with Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Dickson Matembo telling Diggers that his office is unaware of any search.
„Hon. Kafwaya's family deserves the truth. So does Zambia,“ Dr M'membe said.
The decision now rests with the DPP's office. The letter was copied to the Human Rights Commission, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Inspector General of Police and the Kafwaya family. Dr M'membe says he will publish the DPP's response once it arrives.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dr M'membe asking the DPP to do?
He wants the DPP to apply to the High Court under section 33(1)(a) of the Inquests Act for an order that an inquest be held into Mutotwe Kafwaya's death, and for the postmortem and ballistic reports to be released to the family.
Why has no inquest been held so far?
Dr M'membe says no legal obstacle exists. The only ground for postponement under section 6, a murder or manslaughter charge over the death, has never applied because no officer has been charged.
When and how did Mutotwe Kafwaya die?
He died on 14 August 2026 during a joint security operation at a house in Kabulonga, Lusaka, one day after the general election. The Inspector General of Police confirmed his death on 19 August.