National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Muntayalwa Mundubile gives an interview to Agence France-Presse at Hot FM radio station studio in Lusaka, on August 12, 2026. [AFP]
The Zambian opposition leader who was runner-up in this month's disputed presidential election was taken into custody Thursday over treason allegations, police said.
Opposition leader Brian Mundubile surrendered to police on Thursday after two weeks in hiding following a summons over an alleged national security threat, state media reported.
President Hakainde Hichilema won 60 percent of the vote and is due to be sworn in for a second term next week, amid uncertainty over a legal challenge to his victory.
Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu were "interviewed by investigators and are currently in police custody", police said in a statement.
It said they took statements from the pair "in connection with an alleged offence of treason".
Mundubile took refuge the day after the August 13 election at an international human rights organisation after police raided his home.