Zambian police said Thursday they had arrested opposition politician Fred M’membe over a post alleging the DR Congo leader claimed to have paid his Zambian counterpart millions of dollars to buy off criticism.
M’membe, leader of the small Socialist Party, was arrested for “the offence of seditious practices,” police said in a statement.
A journalist and lawyer, M’membe, 65, has regularly clashed with authorities for his outspoken criticism of Zambia’s government.
The police said they acted after M’membe posted on social media on July 16 an article entitled President Felix “Tshisekedi tells DRC Catholic Bishops about the USD 20 million payout to buy Zambia’s silence.”
“The content of this article is alleged to have been intended to bring into hatred or contempt or to incite disaffection against the government as established by law,” police spokesman Rae Hamoonga said.
M’membe was detained in police cells and will appear in court to answer the charges, he said.
A journalist running the online Zambian Whistleblower was arrested on Tuesday on the same charges over a posted article alleging that a government department was renting office space from a building owned by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. Thomas Zgambo was released on bail on Thursday.
AFP
