Zambia: Former President Lungu Banned From 'Political Jogging'

(file photo)
25 September 2023

Zambian police banned former president Edgar Lungu from public jogging events, reports BBCThe police said Lungu's exercise sessions while escorted by members of his Patriotic Front (PF) party and without his security officers amounted to "unlawful assembly".

The former president was ordered to notify police in advance when planning to jog in future "to ensure public safety and traffic management".

The police said Lungu should strictly adhere to security protocols and should refrain from any form of "political activism". The ban comes a few days after Lungu took the government to court after he was allegedly blocked from travelling to South Korea for a conference. He later withdrew the case.

Lungu lost the 2021 presidential election to Hakainde Hichilema after being in power for six years. There is speculation that he is planning to contest in the 2026 elections.

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