KABWE-(MaraviPost)-Former Zambian Finance Minister Dr. Katele Kalumba has resurfaced at Kabwe Central Police Station, 24 hours after he was seized from his home in Chiengi by armed men believed to be members of the Zambia Army.
His wife, Lumba Kalumba, confirmed he is currently detained at Kabwe Central.
The manner of his arrest – soldiers arresting a civilian at dawn – sparked national outrage and revived fears that Zambia is drifting into military rule.
Prominent governance commentator Yaki Mulimba said the incident is not an isolated mistake but a dangerous pattern.
“Arresting a Zambian citizen by the Zambian Army is not policing. It is lawlessness, and when it becomes pattern, it is anarchy institutionalized against the citizenry,” Mulimba said.
“The arbitrary picking of Dr. Katele Kalumba – a former Minister of Finance, a Sub-Chief Natende Walushiba, and a headman – from his home in Chiengi by armed soldiers on 23 September 2026 is not an isolated mistake. It is the latest symptom of a country that is being systematically subjected to a military state.”
Mulimba cited Article 193(2) of the Constitution of Zambia, which gives the Zambia Police Service the exclusive mandate to protect life, preserve peace, maintain law and order, and detect crime. The Zambia Defence Force’s role is to defend the country from external aggression and only has powers of arrest “when acting in aid of the civil power.”
“It is the Zambia Police, whose job it is to obtain warrants, effect arrests, and produce suspects before court within 48 hours, has been reduced to a reception desk where soldiers deliver citizens they have already abducted,” he said.
Kalumba, who served as Finance Minister under Frederick Chiluba, has been an outspoken critic of President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration on governance and rule of law.
Days before his arrest, he publicly condemned the continued detention of opposition leaders Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and 16 others on treason charges.
Hours before he was taken, Kalumba released a chilling open letter addressed to the Director General of the intelligence service, Friday Nyambe, detailing a pre-dawn raid on his lodge.
“At about 04:00 this morning, armed men carrying guns, together with plain-clothes operatives whom I believe may have been from your department, came to my lodge looking for me,” Kalumba wrote.
“They questioned the young men who look after the lodge and the customers who were there. They apparently said that they had heard that I was unwell and wanted to check on me. I find it difficult to understand why such a welfare concern would require armed men to come to a lodge at 04:00 in the morning.”
He said an ambulance had also appeared at the lodge the previous day and left without explanation.
Kalumba, who has spoken openly about his ill health, said he would not be intimidated.
“If somebody wants to intimidate me, I will not be intimidated. Mwanakatele is already dead. This place is called Mutambolola — Wafwata Itamba.”
In his letter, titled “ANOTHER ABDUCTION, ANOTHER LIFE TO KILL?” Kalumba appealed directly to the DG to de-escalate.
“I have spent these last days trying to be a voice for reconciliation, reason and constitutional order. I have not been calling for violence… I have been trying to strengthen the voice of the President and the institutions of State by encouraging them to act within the Constitution.”
“Do not allow Zambia to drift into a situation where vigilante-style military or police activities become normalised. That is dangerous for everybody — including those in government,” he warned.
He cited the recent abductions of former intelligence chief Xavier Chungu and opposition MP Ms Munthali, who he said is “struggling for her life after abduction.”
“Whatever the allegations or political differences may be, what picture are we creating of our country when citizens and elected representatives are subjected to circumstances that raise such profound questions about their safety and their rights?”
“And now you come for me, knowing my health and knowing my age… If there is a legitimate concern about me, come and talk to me. If there is a lawful matter involving me, let it be handled openly and according to the law. There is no need for armed men arriving at a lodge at four o’clock in the morning.”
Police have not yet issued a formal statement on the charges against Dr. Kalumba.
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