Police in Zambia arrest former permanent representative to African Union for seditious practices

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Police in Zambia on Tuesday formerly arrested and charged Emmanuel Mwamba, a former ambassador to Ethiopia and permanent representative to the African Union, for seditious practices.

Mwamba, who after being recalled in 2021 served as the spokesman for an embattled cohort of the former ruling Patriotic Front (PF) affiliated with Zambia’s ex-President Edgar Lungu, is alleged to have on Nov. 4 this year posted on a Facebook page "a post likely to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Zambia," said police spokesman Rae Hamoonga.

Hamoonga said in a statement that Mwamba's post was also likely to incite violence or any offence prejudicial to public order or in disturbance of the public peace.

"The suspect has been detained at Emmasdale Police Station (in the capital Lusaka) and will appear in court soon," he said.

Separately, Hamoonga said a “warn and caution” statement had been read to Raphael Nakachinda for the offence of seditious practices.

Hamoonga said Nakachinda, the disputed secretary general of a PF Lungu aligned cohort, with the intent to raise discontent or disaffection among the people of Zambia, did cause to be published seditious words in a local tabloid on Oct. 27, "an intention meant to incite citizens to revolt against the government. The utterances are alleged to have been made during a press briefing on Oct. 26 in Lusaka. The accused has been detained at Emmasdale Police Station.”

In another incident, Hamoonga said police had read a warn and caution statement to former Justice Minister Given Lubinda for failure to submit a passport, diplomatic passport and travel document contrary to the Passport Act and in the second count for holding more than one passport, diplomatic passport or travel document contrary to the law.

"It is alleged that the offense in the first count was committed between March 1, 2023 and Oct. 26, 2023, while the one in the second count was between March 1, 2023 and Nov. 14, 2023 in Lusaka. The accused has been detained in police custody at Westwood Police Station (in Lusaka),” added Hamoonga.

Lubinda is the 'vice-president' of the Lungu-affiliated PF and his ministerial tenure was served between 2016 and 2021.