Hakainde Hichilema was inaugurated for a second presidential term in Zambia on Tuesday, 1 September, taking his oath before thousands of cheering supporters packed into the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka — while his main electoral rival sat in custody on treason charges. The ceremony, attended by a handful of African heads of state and heavily secured by police, was shadowed by mounting concerns over the state of democracy in one of southern Africa's historically more stable nations.

Hichilema, 64, won last month's 13 August election with approximately 60 percent of the vote, according to official results, defeating Brian Mundubile of the NRPUP opposition alliance, who received around 38 percent. The day after the vote, security forces raided Mundubile's home, saying they were targeting a suspected militia that posed a national security threat. A former cabinet minister, Mutotwe Kafwaya, was shot and killed in the operation — the opposition disputes official accounts that security forces came under fire — and more than a dozen opposition figures were arrested. Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu went into hiding before surrendering to police nearly two weeks later. Both have since been charged with treason, charges they deny.

The election itself drew criticism from international observers, who noted a pause in ballot-counting, restrictions on the opposition, and allegations of intimidation before polling day. Independent monitors concluded that Hichilema had crossed the 50 percent threshold required to win outright, but identified anomalies in official results. Access to the country's main courts was also reportedly closed on the final day of the legal window for challenging the election results, a move the opposition condemned. Muhabi Lungu, a member of Mundubile's alliance, called the inauguration