Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile, who had gone into hiding after disputing the recent presidential election result, has been detained over allegations of treason.<\/b><\/p>\n
The official results from the 13 August poll showed that incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema won with a 60% share of the vote compared to Mundubile’s 38%.<\/p>\n
The day after the vote, security forces raided a property in the capital, Lusaka, linked to Mundubile, killing a former cabinet minister and arresting a number of other politicians.<\/p>\n
The authorities accused the opposition of planning an armed insurgency, which they denied.<\/p>\n
Following the raid, Mundubile went to a “secure location under the protection of an international human rights body due to threats made against him”, his NRPUP party said.<\/p>\n
The opposition leader’s running mate Makebi Zulu was also taken into police custody on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The pair had taken refuge with the United Nations in the capital after security forces killed a former cabinet minister and arrested a number of politicians in a raid. They were detained after the president put pressure on the UN to hand him over.<\/p>\n
On Thursday state broadcaster ZNBC said that the two were being interviewed by “law enforcement officers” in the presence of their lawyers after a summons regarding “alleged activities that police say have the potential to threaten national security”.<\/p>\n
The opposition was unable to mount a legal challenge to the election outcome as the courts were sealed off by the authorities on Monday, the final day that a case could be filed.<\/p>\n
Hichilema is due to be sworn in for a second term on 1 September.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"