Zambia’s main opposition leader remains imprisoned…

Incarcerated UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema waves at supporters when he appeared at court before being taken back to prison

…as pressure mounts on Zambia to address deteriorating political environment

On 10^th April, 2017, Zambia Police undertook a night invasion of the house of leading opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema. The Police switched off power at the house, blocked the main roads and then broke down the gates to the house to gain access to the house before firing teargas into the house. The night long raid ended the following morning when he was finally apprehended and taken out and later slapped with a treason charge among others.

His arrest came amidst Hichilema’s continued insistence that he would not recognize Lungu as duly President of Zambia because the Courts failed to hear his petition against his election in 2016. At his instigation, UPND Members of Parliament have also made it a habit to stay away from Parliament whenever President Lungu addresses the House.

A few days earlier both President Lungu and Mr Hichilema attended the Kuomboka Ceremony in Mongu in Western Zambia. Their motorcades met on their way to the ceremony driving in the same direction with the Presidential motorcade forced to overtake Hichilema’s motorcade rather violently, a situation that some analysts and ruling party functionaries described as endangering to the life of the President.   

Civil society actors, the international diplomatic community and political party leaders have continued to condemn the manner in which Hakainde was arrested and calls have been made at home and abroad for his immediate and unconditional release. The latest voice came from the Catholic Church, in their pastoral letter, signed by Archbishop of Lusaka Telesphore-G Mpundu, on 23^rd April, 2017 who is also President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“There  is  fear  and  trembling  among  the  people  shown  in  the way  they  are  afraid  to  speak  out  against  injustices.  This is due  to  several  actions  by  government  which  were  meant  to instil fear  into  and intimidate the masses.”The statement observes.  

“We do not in any way condone illegality.  We nevertheless deplore the massive, disproportionate and entirely unnecessary force with which the Police acted in apprehending him.  Would it not have been much  more civilised  and  professional  to  deliver  a  summons  to him containing a charge and ordering him to appear before the police  to  answer  charges  of  alleged  law  breaking?  The brutal  way  in  which  the  Police  acted  has  only  served  to  heighten  the already  considerable tension in the nation particularly  between supporters of the UPND and PF.”

Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja told a media briefing that Mr Hichilema was jointly charged with five other people with treason and three other criminal offences.
“I would like to inform the nation that we have jointly charged and arrested Mr Hichilema and five others with:

1. Treason contrary to section 43 (1) (a)
2. Disobedient to lawful orders contrary to section 127 of the penal code.
3. Disobeying of statutory duty contrary to section 126 of the penal code of the laws of Zambia (rule No. 222 of the High Way Code), and
4. Use of insulting language contrary to section 179 of the penal code.”

Mr Kanganja said those jointly charged with Mr Hichilema are Lastone Mulilandumba, Muleya Haachenda, Walace Chakwa, Pretornous Haloba, and Hamusonde Hamaleka.

Mr Kanganja insisted that the actions by the opposition leader were unreasonable, reckless and criminal. He said the police had closely analysed what transpired in Mongu district of western province on Saturday the 8th of April 2017.

“It has been established that the opposition leader disobeyed police orders to give way to the Presidential motorcade on Limulunga road in an attempt to put the life of the Republican President in danger,” Mr Kanganja said.

The United States government and its European Union partners have condemned the incarceration of opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema. The US Embassy in Lusaka has also called for dialogue between the government and the UPND following the April 8 clash between the two parties.

The Embassy said it remained concerned about the heightened tensions between the two parties after the April 10 raid of the opposition leader’s residence.

The statement issued on 13^th April by the US Embassy reads in part:

“The U.S. Embassy remains concerned over heightened political tension in Zambia, specifically noting the April 10 police raid of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema’s Lusaka residence and his subsequent arrest for treason.

The U.S. government urges all actors to exercise restraint in addressing differences, to respect the rule of law and electoral proceedings, and to follow the due process Zambians expect from a country with a reputation for political pluralism and peaceful conflict resolution.”

The catholic Bishops also noted in their statement that the continuous tension between the UPND and PF had affected the lives of many other citizens in the country who are living in fear and are not going about their business of life freely. The Catholic Church is thus deeply saddened  by  the  incidents  of  unprofessional  and  brutal conduct  of  the  Police  Service,  the  damage  to  the  innocent citizens’  property  by  suspected  cadres,  the  arbitrary  arrests  of and  horrific  torture  of  suspects  as  well  as  the  careless, inflammatory  and  divisive  statements  of  Zambian  political  leaders.

All  these  are  indications  that  our  democratic  culture  is  yet  to

 “It is our considered view that as a nation, we have  lamentably failed  to  robustly  address  a  number  of  recurrent  snags including  those  that  stem  from  our  previous  elections.  The current  political  predicament  directly  flows  from  deep-rooted problems we have failed to fix or  resolve,  not withstanding four constitutional  commissions  of  inquiry.  As  we  have  stated before,  “The  political  environment  in  Zambia,  today,  is characterised  by  manipulation,  patronage  and  intimidation  of perceived  government  opponents.  We  urge  the  government  to stop  using  state  security  institutions  to  intimidate  its  own nationals.  The police service in  particular  must  be  professional and impartial in carrying out their duties of maintaining law and order.  Too many of  the  nation’s  resources  and  time  are  wasted”

The Catholic Bishops also took a swipe at the Judiciary in Zambia.

“Unfortunately, the Judiciary, the arm of government responsible for  adjudicating  between  individuals  and  between institutions  and  delivering  justice  did not  do  much,  if  anything,  to engender a mutually acceptable solution…  It is an open secret that the Judiciary have let the country down by  failing  to  stand  up  to  political  manipulation  and  corruption. How  can  one  explain  the  failure  of  the  Constitutional  Court  to hear  and  exhaustively  conclude  a  presidential  petition?”