NEARLY a year after coming to power in a contested election, Zambian President Edgar Lungu is facing a growing chorus of criticism over his government’s crackdown on dissent.
‘Zambia eminently qualifies to be branded a dictatorship,’ the country’s religious leaders said in a rare statement on Friday, the latest sign that opposition to Lungu’s authority is spreading.
At the heart of the tension is the arrest and continued detention o
f opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, a rich businessman who has run for president five times, narrowly losing to Lungu last August.
His United Party for National Development (UPND) unsuccessfully tried to contest what it called a stolen election, and in April Hichilema was arrested on treason charges after his convoy allegedly refused to give way to the presidential motorcade.
He has since been moved to a maximum security prison and it is unclear when he will return to court. In the meantime, the authorities have kept up pressure on his supporters, including blocking a South African opposition leader from attending Hichilema’s trial last month.
‘Hakainde’s arrest for treason was at first dismissed as a
n intimidatory gimmick by President Lungu,’ said Telesphore Mpundu, the archbishop of the Lusaka diocese, but “outrage over Hichilema’s arrest and incarceration is growing.’ Treason is a non-bailable offence in Zambia, with a minimum jail term of 15 years and a maximum sentence of death.
And Lungu himself did not mince his words during last year’s election campaign, warning political rivals and activists that ‘if they push me against the wall, I will sacrifice democracy for peace.’
The country’s parliament early this month suspended 48 UPND legislators and the government has increased pressure on media outlets that support the opposition.
