Findlay Family Raises Alarm Over His Whereabouts

The family of Lusaka businessman Harry Findlay has issued a public statement demanding he be brought before a court or released, saying he has now spent six days in police detention without formal charge, and raising urgent concern after he was moved from police custody to an undisclosed location without his lawyers present.

According to the family's statement, dated 10 August 2026, Findlay was removed from police custody at around 18:00 hours on 9 August and transported in an unmarked vehicle to a location the family says remains unknown to them. The family said that when they demanded to know which state institution was taking him and why his lawyers were not present, no answers were given, and that family members who tried to follow the vehicle were threatened with arrest. MUVI has not independently verified these specific claims and has sought comment from the Zambia Police Service.

The family said Findlay was arrested and detained by police on 4 August 2026, and that Monday marked six days in custody without formal charge or a lawful extension of his detention. They said their lawyers have advised them that any transfer to a maximum security correctional facility requires legal authority, and that no such authority has been shown to the family.

The statement raised particular concern over Findlay's medical condition, saying the state is aware of his medical history and that his prescription medication was left behind when he was moved, despite what the family describes as a daily medication requirement. "Failure to take his medication poses a serious and immediate risk to his health and life," the family said, adding that repeated requests to deliver his medication to him have gone unanswered.

"We ask that the law be applied to Mr Findlay as it applies to every Zambian," the family said. "This is not a request for special treatment. It is a request for lawful treatment." The family said it had exercised restraint throughout the case, avoided inflammatory statements, and worked through lawyers and lawful channels, but said it could no longer stay silent given what it described as a lack of transparency and judicial oversight. It called on authorities to either bring Findlay before a competent court without further delay and disclose the lawful basis for his continued detention, or release him immediately.

Findlay, a 63-year-old Lusaka businessman, was previously arrested in March 2026 on suspicion of espionage, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years, after being taken from his home in an incident initially reported as a possible abduction before his lawyer traced him to Kabwata Police Station. He was separately convicted in January 2026 on immigration-related offences involving possession of more than one passport, for which he was fined a cumulative K240,000. Some reports at the time of his earlier arrest described him, without official confirmation, as a rumoured financial backer of opposition figures, a characterisation MUVI has not independently verified.

MUVI has sought comment from the Zambia Police Service on the circumstances of Findlay's most recent detention and transfer, and will update this report with any response.