Opposition leader arrested for defaming Zambian president

An opposition leader has been arrested for defaming Zambian President Edgar Lungu, said the police and the ruling party Patriotic Front on Monday.

Eric Chanda, leader of the Fourth Revolution Party and one of the presidential candidates in the election last year, was arrested for questioning the appointment of one of Lungu's aides at a police station over a year ago, said the police spokesperson, Charity Munganga-Chanda.

However, she did not disclose further details as the matter is still under investigation.

Sandy Sindazi, the opposition party's spokesperson, said that the arrest is pure persecution of opposition leaders and questioned why the police had to wait for over a year before arresting him.

Though shocked by the arrest, the party is not shaken by the government's intimidation by arresting opposition leaders, said Sindazi.

Incumbent President Edgar Lungu, who assumed office in January 2015, seeks a full five-year term of office after winning last year's presidential by-election in the wake of the death of his predecessor Michael Sata.

With general elections to be held in August this year, a number of opposition leaders have been arrested and charged, which critics say is a move to crack down on opposition parties ahead of general elections and meant to cause fear among opposition parties. Endi