An election petition hearing ended in a scuffle on Tuesday 13 October, when former Patriotic Front secretary-general Davies Mwila was pushed to the ground on the grounds of the Supreme Court in Lusaka. Video circulated by the Zambian Observer shows him struggling to get back to his feet as a group of people surrounds him. By evening the Chief Justice, the ruling party and Mr Mwila himself had all issued statements — and they do not agree on who was responsible.
Mr Mwila had attended the hearing of the Lima constituency petition in solidarity with Kelvin Kaunda, the NRPUP candidate who won the seat with 22,760 votes against 8,041 for the UPND’s Lee Mukupa, who is challenging the result, Zambia Monitor reported. According to the same report, the incident followed a confrontation with people Mr Mwila identified as UPND supporters, after proceedings had been adjourned; he is said to have mocked their ‘salt sana’ slogan by remarking that they were hungry. No injuries have been reported.
The Chief Justice’s response
Chief Justice Mumba Malila condemned the incident in a statement on Tuesday as an attack on the administration of justice and on the integrity of the Judiciary. He said security at the courts had been heightened, that law-enforcement agencies were investigating and that those responsible would face the full force of the law.
Unruly conduct and violence will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
— Chief Justice Mumba Malila, in a statement issued on Tuesday 13 October, as reported by Zambia Monitor
Two accounts of the blame
Given Gift Chibale, a PF-Pamodzi Alliance national youth official, publicly blamed suspected UPND cadres for the attack, Lusaka Times reported. The UPND Media Team condemned the assault in a statement of its own on Tuesday, said no political disagreement could justify physical attacks, and urged law enforcement to investigate professionally and impartially — but it also rejected the attribution. ‘An allegation does not become a fact simply because it is repeated publicly or attached to the name of a political party,’ the party said, adding that it intended to report Mr Chibale to the police under cybercrime laws.
Mr Mwila, for his part, said he had remained calm and had not assaulted anyone, and described himself as a senior citizen who deserved to be treated with dignity. He has given those involved a month to apologise. ‘I have given the people who attacked me one month to come and apologise because I have not hurt anyone,’ he said, as quoted by the Zambian Observer, urging those responsible to report themselves to the police.
The police have not named any suspects and no arrests have been reported. Both the UPND’s denial and Mr Chibale’s accusation remain unverified claims; the Judiciary’s statement does not attribute the assault to any party. The Lima petition itself continues, with no date for its next sitting reported in the pieces cited here.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Judiciary heightens security after attack on former PF secretary-general Mwila” (14 Oct 2026); Lusaka Times, “UPND Condemns Attack On Davies Mwila, Dares Chibale To Produce Evidence” (14 Oct 2026); Zambian Observer, “Davies Mwila Gives Attackers 30 Days To Publicly Apologise” (13 Oct 2026); Zambian Observer, “WATCH: Davies Mwila Pushed To The Ground By Suspected UPND Cadres” (13 Oct 2026).