Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Zambia’s main opposition leader Brian Mundubile was detained on Thursday over alleged treason after he handed himself over to police, two weeks after a disputed presidential election. Mundubile had sought refuge at a United Nations building in Lusaka after challenging the election result.
Mundubile surrendered alongside his running mate, Makebi Zulu. Police said both recorded ‘warn and caution statements’, a procedure that usually comes before formal charges are filed, and added that they were being held in custody. President Hakainde Hichilema was declared the winner of the August 13 election and is expected to be sworn in for a second five-year term next week, but Mundubile has rejected the result, alleging irregularities and saying he feared for his life.
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The treason allegations against Mundubile and Zulu follow a raid by security forces at Mundubile’s home a day after the election. Authorities said 11 people were arrested in the raid and that AK-47 assault rifles and other military equipment were found at the property. According to the authorities, those arrested were suspected of posing a threat to national security and are in custody facing treason charges.
A former Cabinet minister from the opposition, Mutotwe Kafwaya, was fatally shot during the raid, though the circumstances remain disputed. Authorities said security officers were fired at and returned fire. Mundubile, who was present during the raid, disputed that account and said the opposition officials were unarmed and were shot at by security forces. He has also denied government allegations that the opposition was planning an insurgency.
After the raid, Mundubile said he had gone into hiding. The opposition alliance said on Thursday that he and Zulu had ‘sought shelter’ at a UN building in the capital. Amnesty International described Kafwaya’s killing as ‘deeply alarming’, while UN rights chief Volker Turk said last week that he was concerned about the arrests of Zambian opposition figures, including some detained before the election.
Hichilema won the election with about 60 per cent of the vote, according to the electoral commission. Mundubile said there were irregularities, including the alleged removal of vote tally papers from some polling stations by unauthorised personnel. Vote counting was suspended for hours at one stage because of violence at some counting stations and what the electoral commission said was the theft of ballot boxes, though it did not say who was responsible. The case against Mundubile and Zulu comes as the dispute over the election and the violence around it continues to unfold.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
