Zambia drops treason charges against opposition leader

Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was freed by a judge on Wednesday after the state prosecutor dropped treason charges against him.

“The Director of Public Prosecutions has decided to terminate these proceedings by virtue of her constitutional powers. Therefore, you’re hereby discharged,” said high court judge Charles Chanda.

Hichilema, a longtime rival of President Edgar Lungu, on Monday denied plotting to overthrow the government when he appeared in a Lusaka court on Monday in a case that has heightened political friction in the country.

NAN reports that government and legal sources told Reuters on Sunday the government planned to drop the treason charges against Hichilema and release him from prison under a deal brokered by the Commonwealth secretary-general.

A government source said later that the application to discontinue the case would now be made on Wednesday.

Hichilema — commonly known as HH — and five others were arrested in April and charged with treason after Hichilema’s convoy failed to make way for Lungu’s motorcade.

He was initially charged with treason for obstructing the motorcade then was later accused of plotting to overthrow the government between October 1, 2016, and April 8.

An amended indictment said he plotted to unseat the government between April 5 and April 8 by mobilising his supporters for a ceremony to give him the status of Zambian president.

“HH and the other five co-accused have taken plea and denied the charge of treason,” UPND spokesman Charles Kakoma told reporters on Monday.

The case has raised political in tension in Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer and traditionally a stable democracy.

Amnesty International has said the treason charges are trumped up and called for his release, as have local church leaders.

Hichilema and Lungu have long been rivals.

His United Party for National Development lost an election to Lungu’s Patriotic Front in August 2016r but his legal challenges claiming the poll was rigged failed.

In June, parliament suspended 48 opposition lawmakers for boycotting a speech by Lungu.

In July, Lungu imposed a state of emergency to deal with what he called acts of sabotage by the opposition, including arson attacks on market places and court-houses.