Petitioner’s Own Witness Struggles Under Cross-Examination in Ndola Central Petition

A presiding officer called by petitioner Frank Tayali gave conflicting accounts of an alleged disturbance at a Ndola Central polling station and could not account for ballot papers when cross-examined in the election petition against Emmanuel Mulenga.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) presiding officer, Carol Namushi, was questioned on 5 October 2026 by counsel for First Respondent Emmanuel Mulenga. The cross-examination focused on what allegedly happened at the Ntubashushi polling station at Chibolele Combined School and on how ballot papers were handled there. Namushi told the court she had been a teacher for 19 years. She was called as a witness by petitioner Frank Tayali, who is challenging Mulenga’s election.

The petition arises from the 13 August general election, in which Mulenga of the Resolute Party was declared winner of the Ndola Central seat with 11,659 votes. Tayali, who stood on the United Party for National Development (UPND) ticket, polled 10,840 votes, a margin of 819. He is a former Minister of Transport and Logistics and held the seat before the election. He filed his petition in the High Court in Ndola on 27 August 2026, within the 14 days allowed after the declaration.

Tayali alleges that Mulenga and his agents engaged in illegal practices, misconduct, intimidation and violence, and interfered with the freedom of voters to cast their ballots. He describes the election as marred by glaring irregularities. In its response, the ECZ has told the court that no electoral malpractice, violence or assault was reported to it during polling, counting or the declaration of results. It maintains that the election was free and fair, that results were properly transmitted and verified, and that Mulenga was duly elected.

The ECZ also addressed a temporary suspension of proceedings at the totalling centre, which it attributed to an administrative directive linked to violence in other parts of the country. It told the court the suspension did not affect the outcome because voting had already concluded. The commission has filed the GEN 20 form and procedural records with the High Court in support of the declared result. The 819-vote margin is now the figure at the centre of the dispute.

Namushi’s evidence goes to the heart of the violence allegation, because she was the presiding officer for the polling stream where the disturbance allegedly occurred. She gave two different versions of the sequence of events at the polling station. At one point she said people rushed into the polling station after gunshots were fired. In another account, she said people rushed in first, and that it took a gunshot fired by soldiers for them to disperse. The conflict between the two versions became a central feature of her testimony.

She also confirmed that she made no report of the alleged incident to the ECZ or the Zambia Police. She further confirmed that no arrests were made. Namushi told the court she was appointed a presiding officer on 12 August 2026 and trained shortly before the 13 August election. She blamed some of the difficulties she experienced on inadequate training.

The sharpest questions concerned ballot-paper accountability. Namushi said her polling stream was supplied with 950 ballot papers, although it had 928 registered voters. When pressed on the actual figures, she could not clearly tell the court how many people voted, how many ballots were rejected or how many papers remained unused. Ballot reconciliation requires polling officials to account for the papers issued and their final status.

The court intervened as Namushi struggled to give coherent answers, cautioning her to answer the questions put to her and to address the court appropriately. Her evidence forms part of the wider contest over the 13 August election in Ndola Central. Tayali’s petition seeks to overturn Mulenga’s election, and the matter continues before the court.

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