Lusaka, Zambia — Police in Zambia have arrested five people on espionage charges following their earlier allegations via social media that the government was involved in the apparent abduction of independent lawmaker Jay Jay Banda last week.
Police spokesperson Danny Mwale confirmed to journalists in Lusaka on Thursday the arrests of opposition lawmakers Munir Zulu and Maureen Mubonga, opposition activist Brebner Changala, and opposition party chiefs Edith Nawakwi and Danny Pule.
All suspects earlier this week were charged with spreading hate speech related to last weekend's alleged abduction of Banda, who has since resurfaced. Mwale further said that police charged Zulu, Mubonga and Pule with proposing a tribal war.
In Zambia, espionage charges carry up to a maximum 25 years in prison upon conviction while hate speech charges carry a punishment of up to $6,000 in fines and two years in prison.
Makebi Zulu, a lawyer representing some of the suspects, all of whom are awaiting court appearances in police custody, called the charges "unacceptable" and demanded immediate courtroom hearings.
Political analyst Boniface Cheembe at the University of Zambia has urged political leaders from both the ruling United Party for National Development and the opposition to focus on improving the lives of ordinary Zambians.
"We need to do more as a country," Cheembe said, "Our citizens need to demand more from their political leaders to focus on issues" such as economic difficulties, infrastructure needs and provision of services.
Earlier this week, President Hakainde Hichilema warned that anyone promoting hate speech and tribalism to disturb social peace would face the full force of the law.
Thursday's arrests came barely a week after opposition Patriotic Front Secretary General Raphael Nakachinda was sentenced to 18 months of hard labor for violating a now-defunct presidential defamation law, stemming from his December 2021 allegations that Hichilema had coerced and intimidated Zambian judges into politically favorable rulings.
Human Rights Watch said Nakachinda's sentencing has had a broad chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression in Zambia.
