Off the wire
• 1st LD WHITETHRU: Gunmen attack restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic zone  • Zimbabwe state workers mull actions against unpaid salaries  • Urgent: Police officer dead as attackers open fire after taking hostages at restaurant in Bangladesh  • Nigeria to beef up security to flush out pipeline vandals  • Zambian gov't says only half of population know HIV status  • Zambian law professor elected to UN Committee  • 2nd LD: Attackers seize Bangladesh restaurant, several foreigners believed to be taken hostages  • Flash: POLICE OFFICER DEAD AS ATTACKERS OPEN FIRE AND TAKE HOSTAGES AT SPANISH RESTAURANT IN BANGLADSDH CAPITAL  • Zambia denies shutting down phone services on election day  • Brexit will not affect UK-Zambia relations-British envoy  
You are here: 　 Home

Police raid Zambia main opposition party mobilization campaign center

Xinhua, July 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The police on Friday broke into offices of Zambia's main opposition political party and confiscated documents in a move the party says was meant to instill fear ahead of the August 11 general elections.

Heavy armed police officers stormed the mass mobilization center of the United Party for National Development (UPND) in Lusaka, the country's capital, in the early hours of Friday, ransacked the place and confiscated files containing names of party members.

The party said in a statement on its Facebook page that party officials found at the premises have since been taken to unknown destination.

Stephen Katuka, the party's secretary-general, who described the raid as part of persecution and abuse by the current government, said the party was surprised and did not know what the raid was meant for.

He said the center was used as a coordinating place and noted that the party will not be discouraged by the raid.

Zambia will hold presidential, parliamentary and local government elections next month amid concerns of increased intimidation of opposition voices.

Last week, the country's tax agency, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), closed the main independent newspaper which has been critical of the current government and a main mouthpiece of opposition political parties over unpaid taxes. Endit