Malema compares Zambia leader to apartheid rulers
Lungu has denied accusations that he is creating a dictatorship in Zambia and has accused rivals of trying to overturn last year’s election results
EFF leader Julius Malema on Saturday accused Zambia’s president of apartheid style repression for detaining a leading opposition politician on treason charges. Hakainde Hichilema, leader of Zambia’s United Party for National Development (UPND), has been in detention since April and Zambian President Edgar Lungu this month imposed a state of emergency, a move critics see as an effort to tighten his grip on power. "There is something going terribly wrong in Zambia. The opposition is suppressed," Malema said in an address to his supporters in Durban. "Lungu, you are a coward. Allow the opposition to oppose you. If you are a true leader, you will defeat them properly not through arrest," he said. Malema compared Lungu to South Africa’s apartheid leaders including the architect of the white minority rule, Hendrik Verwoerd, and FW de Klerk, the last apartheid president. "You are not different from de Klerk, ...you are not different from Verwoerd. When people oppose you, you arrest them, y...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.