Police charge HH with treason?

Police have charged Hakainde Hichilema with treason for allegedly not giving way to President Edgar Lungu’s motorcade in Mongu on Saturday.

According to UPND lawyer Jack Mwiimbu, police have not yet officially charged HH but had detained him on treason charges before recording a warn and caution statement from him.

Mwiimbu described the charge as “nonsensical” and complained that the police were acting on orders from officials in the ruling Patriotic Front.

“The reason behind that charge is that Treason is non bailable. The charge is nonsensical and no sensible lawyer can come up with such a charge,” Mwiimbu told News Diggers in a phone interview. “There is no Treason that was committed along that Limulunga Road on that basis. That is just being nonsensical. And the unfortunate part is that the police are being unprofessional considering that it is the PF who have been proposing that HH must be charged with Treason.”

Meanwhile, police caused unspecified damage to HH’s property as they raided his mansion in Lusaka’s New Kasama area in a mission to arrest him. Police also reportedly looted foodstuffs and other items from the house.