Zambia’s opposition leader charged with treason

Hakainde Hichilema, Zambia’s opposition leader, has been charged with treason for allegedly putting President Edgar Lungu’s life in danger.

The opposition leader was slammed with the treason charge over the failure of his convoy to give way to Lungu’s motorcade.

Kakoma Kanganja, Zambia’s police chief, says Hichilema “disobeyed police orders to clear the way”.

“It has been established that the opposition leader disobeyed police orders to clear the way, thereby putting the life of the head of state in danger,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Hichilema was arrested on Monday night following a police raid on his house in the capital, Lusaka.

Before his arrest, Hichilema and his family hid in a safe room within the house.

He told the Daily Maverick that: “This guy (President Edgar) Lungu, he wants to kill me. He’s basically broken into my house and put his men around. The whole night they were harassing my wife and children.

“In the house we have a secure room (so we went there). They have beaten all my workers. And they are still here. This guy is a dictator, a full-blown dictator. We’ve been saying so, no one in the region has been listening, and this is the consequence of not taking notice.”

Hichilema is the head of Zambia’s United Party for National Development (UPND).