There is no credible evidence that former Vice-President Dr. Nevers Mumba was assigned a secret mission to poison detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu. iVerify Zambia contacted his Special Assistant, who dismissed the allegation as false, and found no independent evidence supporting the claim.
Claim
A story posted on 21 September 2026 by a Facebook page called Lily Mutamz TV claimed that former Zambian Vice-President Dr. Nevers Mumba had been “put on a secret mission to poison” detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu.
The post alleged that Dr. Mumba was pretending to support the two detainees in order to gain access to them and carry out the alleged poisoning.
Verdict: False
Rating Justification
iVerify Zambia found no evidence to substantiate the allegation that Dr. Nevers Mumba had been assigned a secret mission to poison Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu.
As part of its verification, iVerify Zambia contacted Clement Siame, Special Assistant to Dr. Mumba, who categorically dismissed the allegation as false. Mr. Siame described the allegation as unfortunate and said Dr. Mumba would not contemplate poisoning Mr. Mundubile and Mr. Zulu. He also questioned the practical basis of the allegation, noting that items taken to detainees are subject to checks by correctional authorities before being handed to them. Mr. Siame further explained that Dr. Mumba has recently stepped away from active partisan politics and intends to play a broader, non-partisan role focused on dialogue, reconciliation and national unity. In that capacity, he has continued to comment on issues affecting both ruling and opposition political actors.
Public reporting is consistent with this stated position. On 21 September, News Diggers reported that Dr. Mumba had described delays in taking Mr. Mundubile and Mr. Zulu to court as regrettable and called for their rights to be respected. Other recent reports have similarly quoted Dr. Mumba calling for fair treatment of the two opposition figures and emphasising the presumption of innocence. These publicly documented statements do not support the allegation that Dr. Mumba was seeking access to the detainees in order to harm them.
Importantly, the Facebook post provides no evidence, documents, named sources or other verifiable information showing that Dr. Mumba was given such an assignment or had attempted to carry it out.
Conclusion
There is no credible evidence that former Vice-President Dr. Nevers Mumba was assigned a secret mission to poison detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu.
The allegation was dismissed by Dr. Mumba’s Special Assistant, Clement Siame, and iVerify Zambia found no independent evidence supporting the claim. Recent public statements attributed to Dr. Mumba instead show him publicly calling for the rights and fair treatment of Mundubile, Zulu and other detainees. The claim is therefore False.
Allegations that a public figure, or indeed any other person, intends to poison political detainees or other group of people are serious and potentially inflammatory, particularly in an already sensitive political and legal environment. Sharing such claims without credible evidence can contribute to fear, hostility and the spread of misinformation.
Help Stop the Spread of Misinformation
Before sharing election-related or public affairs information, verify whether it comes from credible and official sources. If you encounter suspicious claims, images or videos, submit them to iVerify Zambia for verification.
Email: factcheck@panos.org.zm
WhatsApp: +260 762 974 750
Together, we can reduce the spread of misinformation and disinformation, promote access to accurate and verified information, and help protect the integrity of public discourse.
