[Opinion] The postponement of RightsCon: Another case of the dragon’s hold on Africa?
**The event was due to be held in a venue partly funded by China and follows a Zambian environmental disaster involving a Chinese state firm.**
*Opinion piece by Danson Kahyana. He teaches at Boston College and is a research fellow at the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of Free State, South Africa.*
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The cancellation of RightsCon, due to be held this weekend in Lusaka, Zambia has come as a shock. The global conference would have brought together thousands of advocates, technologists, academics, policymakers and others concerned with issues at the intersection of human rights and technology. However, for those Zambians who are abreast of the political direction their country is taking, it is not very surprising. Daniel Sikazwe, the secretary general of Zambian PEN, had feared that it could happen given the fact that the conference was to happen just three months before the general elections on 13 August 2026.
“The conference was going to show the world the state of human rights violations in Zambia at a time when the regime in power does not want this information known by the electorate,” he said, adding that since President Hakainde Hichilema assumed office in 2021, the human rights situation in the country has deteriorated. Hichilema’s government has enacted laws like the Cyber Security Act (2025) and the Cyber Crimes Act (2025) which human rights experts consider hostile to perceived dissent, criticism and political opposition. In fact, the Law Association of Zambia has petitioned the high court to declare provisions of the Cyber Crimes Act unconstitutional since it infringes on freedom of expression, speech, conscience, and association.
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Charles Mafa, managing partner and editor at the Center of Investigative Journalism in Lusaka, Zambia attributed the postponement to **China’s influence in the mining sector in Zambia**. “On 18 February 2025, there was a major environmental disaster in Zambia: a tailings dam owned by a Chinese state-owned enterprise collapsed, **releasing close to 50 million litres of highly toxic waste into the Kafue River ecosystem**. This disaster and how investigations into it have been frustrated by the government was bound to be one of the big talking points at the conference to the discomfort of the ruling party,” he said.
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David Ngwenyama, a well-known Zambian ecologist, reiterates Mafa’s point. “This is the same government that has done public relations work for the Chinese mining company, claiming that pollution has been neutralised and the conditions are back to normal,” he said, adding, “I would not be surprised if the postponement of the conference is yet another performance of Chinese power in Zambia.”
The fact that the venue where the conference was to be held – the Mulungushi International Conference Center – was partly built with Chinese funds has also made people wonder if China could have had a hand in the postponement of the event. There were also representatives from Taiwan due to speak at the conference. If all this is true, it raises serious questions about Zambia’s sovereignty.
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RightsCon have issued a statement saying they believe that “foreign interference” from China was the reason for the cancellation of the conference. You can read their explosive statement [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20260502094039/https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-statement/).
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[Web Archive link](https://web.archive.org/web/20260503153157/https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/05/the-postponement-of-rightscon-2026-in-zambia-another-case-of-the-dragons-hold-on-africa/)
*Opinion piece by Danson Kahyana. He teaches at Boston College and is a research fellow at the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of Free State, South Africa.*
...
The cancellation of RightsCon, due to be held this weekend in Lusaka, Zambia has come as a shock. The global conference would have brought together thousands of advocates, technologists, academics, policymakers and others concerned with issues at the intersection of human rights and technology. However, for those Zambians who are abreast of the political direction their country is taking, it is not very surprising. Daniel Sikazwe, the secretary general of Zambian PEN, had feared that it could happen given the fact that the conference was to happen just three months before the general elections on 13 August 2026.
“The conference was going to show the world the state of human rights violations in Zambia at a time when the regime in power does not want this information known by the electorate,” he said, adding that since President Hakainde Hichilema assumed office in 2021, the human rights situation in the country has deteriorated. Hichilema’s government has enacted laws like the Cyber Security Act (2025) and the Cyber Crimes Act (2025) which human rights experts consider hostile to perceived dissent, criticism and political opposition. In fact, the Law Association of Zambia has petitioned the high court to declare provisions of the Cyber Crimes Act unconstitutional since it infringes on freedom of expression, speech, conscience, and association.
...
Charles Mafa, managing partner and editor at the Center of Investigative Journalism in Lusaka, Zambia attributed the postponement to **China’s influence in the mining sector in Zambia**. “On 18 February 2025, there was a major environmental disaster in Zambia: a tailings dam owned by a Chinese state-owned enterprise collapsed, **releasing close to 50 million litres of highly toxic waste into the Kafue River ecosystem**. This disaster and how investigations into it have been frustrated by the government was bound to be one of the big talking points at the conference to the discomfort of the ruling party,” he said.
...
David Ngwenyama, a well-known Zambian ecologist, reiterates Mafa’s point. “This is the same government that has done public relations work for the Chinese mining company, claiming that pollution has been neutralised and the conditions are back to normal,” he said, adding, “I would not be surprised if the postponement of the conference is yet another performance of Chinese power in Zambia.”
The fact that the venue where the conference was to be held – the Mulungushi International Conference Center – was partly built with Chinese funds has also made people wonder if China could have had a hand in the postponement of the event. There were also representatives from Taiwan due to speak at the conference. If all this is true, it raises serious questions about Zambia’s sovereignty.
...
RightsCon have issued a statement saying they believe that “foreign interference” from China was the reason for the cancellation of the conference. You can read their explosive statement [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20260502094039/https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-statement/).
...
[Web Archive link](https://web.archive.org/web/20260503153157/https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/05/the-postponement-of-rightscon-2026-in-zambia-another-case-of-the-dragons-hold-on-africa/)