State House has rejected claims that President Hakainde Hichilema's call for national reconciliation cannot succeed while opposition leader Mr Brian Mundubile remains in detention. The President's Political Advisor, Mr Levy Ngoma, said reducing Mr Mundubile's incarceration to a political issue is misplaced because he is accused of committing a crime.
Mr Ngoma was responding to Mr Davies Mwila, National Chairperson of the BM8-ECL Movement and a former Patriotic Front Secretary General, who said on Saturday there can be no reconciliation in the country as long as Mr Mundubile, Mr Makebi Zulu and 16 others remain in prison. News Diggers carried Mr Mwila's position on Sunday, and State House's rebuttal on Monday.
The exchange cuts to the heart of the President's message since he opened the 14th National Assembly on Friday. In a prayer posted on his Facebook page, President Hichilema asked God to guide public servants to serve with humility, gratitude and love.
May we cherish our peace and remember with gratitude the quiet sacrifices that sustain it. May we all place service to our country and her interests above our own.
— President Hakainde Hichilema, in a prayer on his Facebook page, carried by Lusaka Times
The opposition reads the same moment very differently. Mr Mwila has called for an independent, credible and transparent inquiry into the death of former Transport Minister Mr Mutotwe Kafwaya, who was killed during a security operation at Mr Mundubile's residence after the August polls, and demanded the release of the detained leaders.
There is no way the head of state can say we need to heal when people have a lot of questions like what happened during the elections.
— Dr Neo Simutanyi, governance expert, who urged a truth and reconciliation commission — Lusaka Times
Dr Simutanyi also questioned why a full Cabinet had not been appointed a month after the President's re-election. State House's position is that the detentions belong to the justice system: Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu face treason charges and were later also charged with seditious practices, and Director of Public Prosecutions Mr Gilbert Phiri has said complex cases such as treason require time to investigate.
The reconciliation language has also spilled into the row over the National Day of Prayer. Tonse Alliance spokesperson Dr Lawrence Mwelwa said Government could not confidently stand before God in prayer while questions about Mr Kafwaya's death and the treason detentions remained unanswered.
What exactly would the government be celebrating? On its head there is Kafwaya's blood. On its shoulders there is the incarceration of opposition leaders on trumped-up treason charges.
— Dr Lawrence Mwelwa, Tonse Alliance spokesperson — Lusaka Times
Church mother bodies said in August they were considering a broader, longer-term national healing and reconciliation process. The detained leaders' lawyers, meanwhile, are seeking the court's intervention over the prolonged detention in a hearing scheduled to run from 26 October to 6 November. For now, State House maintains that the President's appeal for peace stands on its own, and that the treason case must run its course.
Sources: Lusaka Times, “Mundubile's Detention Is A Criminal Matter, Not A Barrier To Reconciliation, Says State House” (12 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “HH's call for reconciliation is not about Mundubile – State House” (12 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “No reconciliation can happen when Mundubile is in prison – Mwila” (11 Oct 2026).