Fred M’membe, the leader of Zambia’s Socialist Party, has been arrested and charged with seditious practices by the Zambia Police Service. The arrest is related to an article M’membe published on July 16, 2024, on his Twitter and Facebook pages, titled “Tshisekedi tells DRC Catholic Bishops about the USD20 million payout to buy Zambia’s silence”.
According to the police, the content of the article was intended to bring hatred or contempt against, or incite disaffection towards, the Zambian government as established by law. M’membe has been detained in police custody and is expected to appear in court soon to answer the charges.
This is not the first time M’membe has been arrested. He has described his repeated arrests as “high-grade foolishness, high-grade stupidity and high-grade desperation”. The Socialist Party has been critical of the Zambian government’s policies, particularly the cost of living crisis in the country.
M’membe’s counsel stated that the charge was related to an interview the Socialist Party president had given to a journalist in a documentary on the recent elections in Zimbabwe. The documentary examined alleged ties between opposition political figures in Southern Africa and capitalist elite interests.
The Socialist Party has condemned the arrest as an attempt to silence critical voices of the masses and has warned that the intimidation will produce a “boomerang” effect as the Zambian people learn more about the government’s inability to provide solutions to everyday problems.