Zambia’s Hichilema sworn in for second term as opponent faces treason charges

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in Tuesday for a second five-year term at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, following a disputed August 13 election in which he was declared the winner with around 60% of the vote.

He was sworn in alongside his running mate, Mutale Nalumango, with Botswana President Duma Boko and Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan among the African leaders attending the inauguration.

Hichilema, credited with stabilising an economy that had defaulted on its international debt and suffered inflation above 24% when he first took office in 2021, has pledged to build on the economic turnaround of his first term, though many Zambians continue to struggle with the rising cost of living.

The inauguration comes just days after his main rival, Brian Mundubile, who won 38% of the vote, was taken into police custody on treason allegations.

Mundubile surrendered to police after two weeks in hiding, having sought refuge at a United Nations building following the disputed election, and recorded a “warn and caution statement” alongside his running mate, Makebi Zulu, a procedure that typically precedes formal charges.

The day after the vote, security forces had raided a Lusaka property linked to Mundubile, killing a former cabinet minister and arresting several other opposition politicians, with authorities alleging the opposition was planning an armed insurgency, a claim it denies.

Mundubile was unable to mount a legal challenge to the results because courts were sealed off on the final day a case could be filed.

The arrests have drawn international concern even as Hichilema’s re-election was welcomed by financial markets.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk urged Zambian authorities to stop arbitrarily arresting people, while the EU Electoral Observation Mission flagged a “constrained democratic space” in the country.

Despite the political turmoil, Hichilema’s confirmed victory prompted Citigroup to advise clients to buy into Zambia’s bonds after the president pledged to triple annual copper output within five years.

The developments mark a tense start to Hichilema’s second term in Africa’s second-largest copper producer, a country whose elections have historically been considered largely peaceful.