With eleven days to go before Mandevu votes for a new member of Parliament, the police have published their plan for keeping the campaign peaceful, and the opposition has lodged its first formal complaint of violence. Zambia Monitor reports that Inspector General of Police Graphael Musamba, in a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday 24 October, said the Zambia Police Service "will not tolerate political violence, unlawful assemblies" or any conduct that threatens public peace, and that offenders would face firm and impartial action regardless of party or status.
The plan, as Zambia Monitor describes it, divides the constituency into three security zones, each with its own commander and officers for patrols and rapid response, with additional personnel drawn from across Lusaka Province. Measures are in place to manage campaign movements and polling-day activity. "All parties must respect the campaign timetable agreed upon under the Electoral Commission of Zambia," Musamba said, and he asked parties to avoid inflammatory language, hate speech, tribal remarks and the transporting of cadres to intimidate opponents. He appealed to churches, civil society and the media to work with the police and the Commission, and to residents to vote in large numbers and report suspicious activity. The by-election is on Thursday 5 November.
The allegation from Raphael Chota ward
The statement followed an incident on Thursday 22 October that Musamba said would be investigated. News Diggers reported on Friday that the Tonse Alliance's acting secretary general, Muhabi Lungu, had accused UPND cadres of disrupting the alliance's campaign and attacking its members in Mandevu. According to Lungu's statement as reported, the alliance's candidate Daniel Chisenga — standing on the FDD ticket with the backing of the Tonse Pamodzi alliance — and other members were set upon by people wearing UPND regalia while campaigning in Raphael Chota ward, and one woman was abducted. Lungu called the incident unfortunate and said the alliance had called for a peaceful campaign. News Diggers' second report, on Saturday, quoted Musamba as saying the police are "fully prepared to maintain law and order before, during and after the Mandevu by-election" and will investigate all cases of violence in the constituency, including the alleged attack on Chisenga.
The UPND's position on the campaign was set out before this incident. News Diggers reported on 17 October that the party's deputy secretary general, Getrude Imenda, had challenged the Tonse Alliance to name the people it claimed were threatening Chisenga, said the party was not aware of any such threats, and suggested that an opposition that felt "weak" should withdraw rather than use the UPND's name. No UPND response to the specific allegation of 22 October had been reported by the outlets read for this edition, and Zambia Monitor's report of the police statement does not identify the party of the alleged attackers.
What to watch
Both the police plan and the complaints will be read as a test of how campaigning is policed in the new Parliament's first months. The questions that remain open are factual ones: whether the police investigation into the Raphael Chota incident produces arrests, whether the abduction reported by the alliance is confirmed, and whether the three-zone plan is visible on the ground when polling opens on 5 November.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: The police statement of 24 October, the three-zone plan, the appeal to parties and the undertaking to investigate the 22 October incident (Zambia Monitor, News Diggers); the by-election date of 5 November (Zambia Monitor); the Tonse Alliance's allegation and the naming of its candidate as Daniel Chisenga (News Diggers); the UPND's earlier challenge to the alliance (News Diggers, 17 October).
Alleged or unverified: Who carried out the alleged attack: the allegation that the attackers were UPND cadres is the alliance's and has not been confirmed by the police, who have said only that the case will be investigated. The reported abduction of a woman is likewise the alliance's account. No arrests had been reported.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Musamba warns against political violence ahead of Mandevu by-election” (24 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Police vow to probe Mandevu violence against Tonse members” (24 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Suspected UPND cadres disrupt Tonse campaigns in Mandevu” (23 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “UPND challenges Tonse to name those threatening their Mandevu candidate” (17 Oct 2026).