from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – CALLS are mounting for Zambia to release opposition leader, Fred M’membe, arrested on August 8.
The president of the Socialist Party of Zambia (65) was recently arrested and charged with seditious practices related to an article that was posted on his online platforms, where he alleged corruption of the government under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema.
His arrest is part of an alleged crackdown on the opposition by Hichilema (62), who came into power in 2021 mainly on a pledge to dismantle dictatorship in the Southern African country.
Critics accuse him of being vindictive and running Zambia with an iron fist and reneging on his pledge of a democratic society.
Tempers are flaring between Zambia and neighbouring Zimbabwe and the detention of M’membe is not helping the situation.
“We condemn the arrest of the Zambia opposition by Hichilema,” said ZANU-PF Patriots on X (formerly Twitter), an organisation aligned to the ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).
Ironically, Zimbabwe is under intense scrutiny from the world at large over human rights abuse as opposition parties claim harassment of its members ahead of the Southern African Development Summit (SADC) regional bloc’s summit in Harare on August 17.
M’membe’s arrest has also drawn criticism in South Africa.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) demanded his immediate and unconditional release.
Irvin Jim, NUMSA General Secretary, expressed solidarity with M’membe, the Socialist Party and the people of Zambia.
“We condemn the Zambian government for abusing its power and for silencing opposition parties. Intolerance of opposition politics is one of the hallmarks of an autocratic state,” Jim said.
M’membe, a journalist by profession, is also an advocate of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court and High Court of Zambia.
He is a member of the International Bar Association and sits on its taxes committee, a member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Southern African Lawyers Association and the Law Association of Zambia.
There is general disappointment over the tenure of Hichilema, previously charged with treason by the government of his predecessor, Edgar Lungu.
Some leaders of the past ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and the Lungu family have been arraigned before the court over charges critics say were trumped up.
Zambia played a big part in liberating the Southern African region from colonialism.
However, in recent years, the country has been involved in diplomatic tiffs with neighbours, mostly Zimbabwe, and recently the Democratic Republic of Congo on trade issues.
– CAJ News