Africa-Press – Zambia. The press statement issued by the Zambia Police Service on 2nd September 2025 is most concerning, both in substance and in tone. The suggestion that “how” Mr. Kapwepwe was brought from Zimbabwe into Zambia is not an issue is, with respect, untenable and contrary to fundamental principles of law.
The manner in which a suspect is apprehended is not a peripheral matter. It goes to the very legality and validity of the process. If, as alleged, Zambian law enforcement officers operated outside their territorial jurisdiction to abduct Mr. Kapwepwe from the Republic of Zimbabwe without due recourse to lawful extradition procedures, this would constitute:
1. A violation of Zambian law, which does not permit extra-territorial abductions.
2. A breach of Zimbabwe’s sovereignty, in contravention of international law and the principles of comity between states.
3. An infringement of Mr. Kapwepwe’s fundamental rights, protected under both domestic and international human rights instruments.
The Zambia Police Service cannot shield itself behind the assertion that matters of evidence are to be ventilated only in a court of law. While that principle applies to trial proceedings, it does not absolve the Police Service of the obligation to account for the lawfulness of its actions, particularly where those actions potentially amount to an unlawful cross-border abduction.
It must be emphasized that extradition procedures exist precisely to ensure that suspects are transferred between jurisdictions lawfully, transparently, and with due process safeguards. To disregard such procedures is to erode the rule of law and to undermine regional cooperation in the administration of justice.
Accordingly, the Zambia Police Service must provide a clear, lawful, and verifiable explanation of how Mr. Kapwepwe was transferred from Zimbabwe to Zambia. Absent such an explanation, the apprehension risks being seen not as a legitimate law enforcement act but as an unlawful and extrajudicial abduction, raising serious questions of both domestic and international accountability.
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