Police review teargas use at opposition campaign rallies

MONGU — The Zambia Police Service is reviewing an operation in which teargas was discharged at an opposition campaign rally, a review that is meant to establish whether officers acted within the law.

The review covers policing in Mongu and Kalabo, in Western Province, where teargas was used during a Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance campaign event. It arrives a week before Zambians vote on 13 August, at a point in the calendar when the right to hold a rally is the opposition's main remaining instrument. How the review lands will shape whether the closing days of the campaign are read as policed or as suppressed.

What the review covers

The Zambia Police Service said the review will determine whether the operation was conducted in line with the law and with established policing standards. It will also examine the conduct of political supporters accused of confronting officers during the operation, which means the inquiry runs in both directions rather than only at the police.

That two-sided framing is significant. Zambian public-order policing turns on the Public Order Act, under which organisers notify police of a gathering and police may impose conditions on the ground. Disputes usually concern whether a given dispersal was proportionate to an actual threat, or whether the threat was the pretext. A review that examines both police conduct and crowd conduct is at least structured to answer that question.

Peace and security are a shared responsibility.

— Inspector General of Police, Zambia Police Service, appeal to political parties, candidates and the public ahead of the 13 August 2026 general election — <a href="https://www.zambiapolice.gov.zm/">Zambia Police Service</a>

A pattern across the campaign

The Mongu operation is not isolated. Teargas was discharged at a convoy carrying the opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu during a campaign appearance in the Kalingalinga area of Lusaka. In a separate incident in the Copperbelt, Mundubile and Zulu walked to a rally in Chambishi after being blocked from driving to it.

Zambia's Human Rights Commission has separately raised concern over hate speech during the campaign, and the United Nations has urged stakeholders to honour the peace pledge candidates signed before the campaign opened. Both interventions point at the same risk: that a tight contest is being fought in language and on streets that make the result harder to accept.

Background

Fourteen candidates are contesting the presidency, a field Kwacha News set out in its report on the 14-strong slate challenging President Hakainde Hichilema. The incumbent has campaigned heavily in the provinces, including a Copperbelt swing in which he urged voters to protect development gains.

The courts are the designated route for anything that survives the campaign. Chief Justice Mumba Malila has said the judiciary will decide election disputes without fear or favour and inside the statutory 90-day window. This report is part of Kwacha News's politics coverage.

What to watch

Watch whether the review reports before polling day or after it, whether any officer or any supporter faces charges, and whether rallies in the final week proceed without dispersal. Watch also what election observer missions say about campaign conditions in their preliminary statements, which are usually issued within 48 hours of the vote.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Public Order Act?

In short, the Public Order Act is the Zambian law that governs public gatherings. Simply put, organisers notify the police of an assembly and the police may set conditions on it. The key is that the Act is a notification regime rather than a permission regime, a distinction that has been argued repeatedly in Zambian courts.

How does a police review of an operation work?

The answer is that the service examines its own conduct against law and standing orders. According to the Zambia Police Service, this review will determine whether the Mongu and Kalabo operation met the law and established policing standards, and will also assess the conduct of supporters who confronted officers. Evidence normally includes commanders' logs and witness accounts.

Why does campaign policing matter to the result?

Because campaign conditions are one of the grounds on which an election can be challenged. In other words, a candidate who could not campaign freely has a documented argument after the fact. Analysis of Zambian election petitions shows campaign-period conduct is routinely pleaded alongside counting disputes.

Who is affected by these operations?

Candidates and their supporters directly, and residents of the areas where teargas is discharged indirectly. Data on the incidents so far shows them concentrated in Western Province, Lusaka and the Copperbelt. The key is that bystanders in dense urban areas such as Kalingalinga absorb the effects of crowd-control munitions alongside the intended crowd.

What are the real risks of contested campaign policing?

Analysis of the closing week of an election points to three durable risks: that dispersals harden into confrontation as crowds anticipate them, that a disputed campaign becomes the basis of a disputed result, and that observers qualify their assessment of the whole exercise. Research on electoral violence shows escalation is most likely in the final days. Each risk compounds the others.

Sources

Zambia Police Service: Zambia Police Service, for the review of the Mongu and Kalabo operation and the Inspector General's appeal ahead of the 13 August 2026 general election. Electoral Commission of Zambia: Electoral Commission of Zambia for the election timetable. Judiciary of Zambia: Election Dispute Resolution.