Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has suspended three senior judges over allegations of judicial misconduct, sparking accusations of political interference in the judiciary.
In 2016, three Constitutional Court judges dismissed President Hichilema’s petition challenging former President Edgar Lungu’s election victory.
They were also involved in a controversial ruling that allowed two-time Zambian president Lungu to run in the 2021 elections.
Political tensions are running high in Zambia ahead of the 2026 elections, which are expected to see Presidents Hichilema and Lungu face off for a fourth time.
The three were due to appear before the court on Thursday to decide whether Lungu can run in the election.
The president’s office said the judges’ suspensions had sparked a sharp backlash and were based on recommendations from a committee investigating them.
The upstanding judges (Justice Annie Seetali, Justice Mungeni Mulenga and Justice Palan Ofunga) have yet to comment on the issue.
The trio were investigated by the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC) after lawyer Joseph Busenga complained about their judicial conduct.
Mr Busenga, who currently serves as a diplomat at the Zambian Embassy in Belgium, petitioned the JCC in 2022 to remove three judges from their posts for their “inappropriate” handling of the 2016 presidential election petition.
They opposed Hichilema and supported Lungu, who eventually became Hichilema’s successor.
President Hichilema suspended the probe on Monday following the JCC’s recommendation after a two-year investigation, the president’s office said.
The presidential statement said only that “the suspensions of the three individuals were an exercise of the authority vested in the President,” but did not provide further details.
The move has drawn sharp criticism, with Lungu’s Patriotic Front (PF) claiming the suspension is illegal.
“I want to tell the Zambian people that it is time to rise up against the injustice being meted out to the judiciary, because if we lose the judiciary, we have lost everything,” Lungu told reporters on Tuesday.
Activists also accused President Hichilema of undermining the independence of the judiciary.
The president or his office has yet to respond to these accusations.
However, some argue that the judiciary has already been politicized.
Laura Mitty, a social and political commentator, said the judges deserved to be removed, but the president was motivated at least to some extent by revenge.
“My honest opinion is that the judges have harmed our country and now the president is doing the same thing,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
The judges’ suspension came just 48 hours before the Constitutional Court was scheduled to hear a case on Justice Lungu’s eligibility for a retrial.
Former President declared a political comeback He is scheduled to face Hichilema in the 2026 presidential election.
“The political games Hichilema is playing around this desire to exclude Lungu are extremely dangerous,” said political analyst Sishuwa Sishuwa. Posted on X.
The three judges will now face disciplinary proceedings after which they will either be removed from the bench or reinstated.
Under the Zambian Constitution, all judges, including the Chief Justice, are appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Chief Justice and approval of the National Assembly.
Critics argue that presidential interference in the appointment and dismissal of judges undermines the independence of the judiciary.
