Zambia Courts Closed as Mundubile Faces Election Petition Deadline

LUSAKA, Zambia — August 24, 2026 — Court premises in Zambia’s capital and other parts of the country were closed or placed under restricted access on Monday, with police deployed at several facilities, as attention focused on the deadline for a possible challenge to the country’s presidential election result.

A BBC report carried by Yahoo News said the affected premises included the High Court in Lusaka, the Supreme Court complex that also houses the Constitutional Court, and several local courts. Lawyers who arrived at some court premises were reportedly instructed to leave.

The closures come at an unusually sensitive moment in Zambia’s post-election period. Opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has said he intends to challenge the result that gave incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema a second term.

According to the BBC report, Monday, August 24, is the final day for a petition against the presidential election result to be filed.

Judiciary cites security reasons

Local reports say a Judiciary administrative memorandum instructed staff not to report for work on Monday because of unspecified security concerns.

A Lusaka Times report said court premises in Lusaka, Ndola, Chipata and Livingstone were among those reported closed or inaccessible, with police deployed at several locations.

The Judiciary memorandum, as reported by multiple outlets, did not publicly explain the nature of the security threat or indicate when normal access would resume.

The official Judiciary of Zambia website had not, at the time of publication, provided a detailed public explanation on its main news page for the nationwide or multi-city restrictions reported by the media.