Zambian security agencies have arrested a 56-year-old Kenyan national identified as Michael Njuka in Lusaka, accusing him of being contracted to carry out cybercrimes targeting state systems hours before the country went to the polls on Thursday.
The arrest was confirmed by Zambia’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, with Permanent Secretary Dickson Matembo announcing that the operation followed intelligence-led work by a joint team drawn from the country’s defence and security agencies. Authorities allege Njuka was contracted to target state systems and undermine the electoral environment ahead of Wednesday’s vote, in which President Hakainde Hichilema was seeking a second term.
Njuka was not the only person swept up in the crackdown. Three former senior government officials were also arrested, accused of offering technical assistance intended to interfere with electoral systems. Forensic examination of electronic devices seized during the operation uncovered what authorities described as unauthorised access to sensitive military intelligence, deepening concerns over the scale of the alleged plot.
Separately, security agencies recovered more than 7.3 million Zambian Kwacha, roughly Ksh50.1 million, from three other individuals: Japhen Mwakalombe, Mwila Kakana and Sensho Banda. The trio have been summoned to explain the source and intended destination of the funds, though their lawyers say they will only present themselves for questioning after Friday, August 14.
Matembo urged Zambians to remain calm and vigilant, warning that anyone found compromising national security, interfering with critical systems, or engaging in criminal activity connected to the election would face the full force of the law. Authorities also moved to dispel rumours of politically motivated abductions, clarifying that a former ambassador and a journalist earlier reported missing had only been assisting investigators and have since been released.
The case has drawn attention beyond Zambia’s borders. Kenya’s own Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is under mounting pressure to guarantee a credible vote in the country’s August 2027 General Election, and had hosted a delegation from Zambia’s Electoral Commission in Nairobi in January for a peer-learning exchange on election integrity, an irony not lost on observers watching how quickly that trust can be tested when nationals of one country are implicated in threats to another’s democratic process.
