Zambia under terror threat – report
By Adrian Mwanza
ZAMBIA faces active terrorism threats from three regional extremist groups, according to the Zambia Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing National Risk Assessment Report 2025.
The report found that while Zambia had not recorded any terrorist attack during the period under review, two cases were prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism and Non-Proliferation Act in connection with the gassing incidents that gripped the country in 2019 and 2020.
However, both cases did not meet the legal threshold to be classified as terrorism. In one of the cases, the suspect was acquitted, while in the other, the State entered a nolle prosequi to discontinue the prosecution. Investigations into other suspected terrorism cases did not result in any convictions.
The report identified the Islamic State, Central African Province (ISCAP), also known as Madina at Tauheed Wau Mujahedeen, as one of the three groups posing a direct threat to Zambia. ISCAP finances its operations through dealings in minerals, timber, charcoal, cannabis and cash crops in the region.
The other two groups identified as threats were Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jammah (ASWJ) and Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahedeen (AS).
“During the period under review, the highest number of international assistance requests sent and received related to Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jammah as highlighted in Figure 18 above. This indicated that the group had significant activities in Zambia owing to the large communities with nationalities from high-risk jurisdictions, some of whom have been hosted as refugees, or granted investor, resident or employment permits. Further, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jammah accounts for the highest number of cases investigated relating to terrorism with the lowest number being ASWJ,” the report reads.
The report said the income for these groups was primarily generated from operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa and through support from the Islamic State Core.
It warned that expected trends for these groups in Zambia included the formation of operational cells, fundraising activities and using the country as a base from which to plan and launch attacks.
The report further noted that the resurgence of the Islamic State in parts of Syria could prompt affiliates in the region to channel funds toward supporting operations there.
The report also flagged a specific vulnerability arising from geopolitical developments in the Middle East, noting that pressure from Arab nations including Türkiye and Lebanon for the return of Syrian refugees to Syria could drive more Syrians to seek refuge in Zambia, creating an environment that Islamic State sympathisers could seek to exploit.
Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jammah (ASWJ) was found to be generating income through bank robberies, piracy, drug trafficking, kidnappings for ransom, illegal mining of gold and rubies, and the sale of ivory and timber from operations in Mozambique, the DRC and South Africa, as well as through support from the Islamic State core.
The report said expected trends for group in Zambia included establishing cells, fundraising, using the country to plan and coordinate operations, and using Zambia as a rest and recuperation base for operatives.
Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahedeen (AS) was identified as the most diversified of the three groups in terms of revenue generation, drawing income from extortion, charcoal trading, tax collection, ransom payments, both legal and illegal business enterprises, donations, imports, and trade in improvised explosive device components, weapons, sugar, rice, dried lemon, flour, cooking oil and wildlife products obtained through poaching. Additional revenue streams included diaspora remittances, trade through ports, transit points and border crossings, tax extortion across trade routes, brick making and filling stations. The group’s income was reported to be generated from Somalia.
