Lusaka — On Wednesday, a Zambian court refused a request to drop treason charges against main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema after he allegedly blocked the president’s motorcade earlier this month. Hichilema was arrested two weeks ago for allegedly obstructing President Edgar Lungu’s official limousine as both men travelled to a traditional event in Zambia’s Western province. He is accused of endangering Lungu’s life when Hichilema’s own convoy allegedly refused to give way to the presidential motorcade in the high-speed incident on a main road on April 8. Hichilema’s lawyers had asked the court to throw out the treason charges, saying they were baseless, but magistrate Greenwell Malumani said he did not have the power to dismiss the charges, which can only be handled by the country’s high court. "The law does not place power in the subordinate court to quash the indictment. The motion to quash the treason charge is untenable," he told a packed court in Lusaka. Hichilema also ...
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