Chris Mfula | LUSAKA
Zambia opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, arrested last week on suspicion of treason, was charged in a magistrate&#8217;s court on Tuesday with trying to overthrow the government.
Relations between the government and opposition have been raw since last August, when President Edgar Lungu&#8217;s Patriotic Front (PF) party beat Hichilema&#8217;s United Party for National Development (UPND) in a vote the opposition says was rigged.
Police in Africa&#8217;s No. 2 copper-producing country raided Hichilema&#8217;s house on April 11 to arrest him and he was initially charged with treason for obstructing Lungu&#8217;s motorcade.
In court on Tuesday, he was charged with treason in that &#8220;(he together with other persons did prepare or endeavoured to overthrow by unlawful means the government&#8221; between Oct. 10 last year and April 8 this year.
The charge in the motorcade incident was changed to disobeying instructions from a police officer by failing to give way to a presidential motorcade and using insulting language.
The court directed that Hichilema should be allowed visits by his children and at least five other family members following an application by his defence lawyers, who said he had so far been allowed to see only his wife.
Dressed in a red coat and khaki shirt, Hichilema waved his party symbol to supporters in court and stood throughout.
The prosecution is expected to respond to the issues raised on Wednesday after which the magistrate will make a ruling. Hichilema and five others facing the same charges, who are all members of his party and include his driver, did not enter pleas as treason can only be tried in the high court.
Lungu has narrowly beaten Hichilema, an economist and wealthy businessman who goes by the nickname &#8220;HH&#8221;, in two presidential elections by a razor-thin margin.
Rising political temperatures in Zambia, a landlocked and impoverished southern African nation, has come against the backdrop of an economy hobbled by low commodity prices, mine closures, rising unemployment, power shortages, a widening budget deficit and diminishing foreign-currency reserves.
The political turbulence, however, does not appear to have closed the taps of international finance or aid. The presidency said on Tuesday Zambia was on the verge of a possible $1.2 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying it was expected to be sealed by the end of April.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)

Zambian opposition leader charged with trying to overthrow government

Tanzanian President John Magufuli ordered the immediate release of a popular local musician on Monday, a day after he was arrested for allegedly mocking the government in a song.
Police had accused Ney wa Mitego of showing disrespect for the presidency in his newly-released Swahili rap song entitled Wapo.     The lyrics of the song do not mention Magufuli by name but question the infringement of freedom of speech in Tanzania. It also criticises the leadership of the country.
Magufuli, nicknamed &#8220;the bulldozer&#8221; for his strict leadership style, has won some praise from Western donors for anti-corruption drives and cutting wasteful government spending since coming to power in November 2015.
But opponents accuse him of becoming increasingly authoritarian, undermining democracy by curbing political activity and cracking down on dissent.
More than 10 people, including university students, have been charged in different court cases over the past few months for insulting the president via social networking platforms, such as WhatsApp.
Insulting the president was made a criminal offence in Tanzania under a cybercrimes law passed in 2015, punishable by up to three years in jail, a fine of around $3,000, or both.
The government described the arrest of the musician and the banning of his song by a state-run arts council as &#8220;drastic measures&#8221;.
Tanzania&#8217;s information minister, Harrison Mwakyembe, told journalists the president wanted wa Mitego to rework the song .    &#8220;It should be improved to also talk about other evils in society, such as tax evasion and drug trafficking,&#8221; the minister quoted the president as saying to him.
Police confirmed that the musician was released on Monday without charge.
Activists and opposition leaders had criticised the arrest.
&#8220;The president has no right to authorise a song by an artiste or not to. It was wrong to arrest Ney and the president&#8217;s order is meaningless too,&#8221; opposition leader Zitto Kabwe said via Twitter.
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng&#8217;wanakilala; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Gareth Jones)
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Tanzanian frees musician arrested for mocking the government

Dear President Zuma,
Our country has made great progress over the last eight months.
On the economic front, your State of the Nation speech and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s budget, together with CEO led initiatives and joint action between government, business and labour, have begun to restore investor confidence in South Africa.
On the political front, the free, fair, and effective conduct of our municipal elections, has strengthened our democracy. The dignified acceptance of results by both winners and losers is clear evidence to the world that we are a strong, functioning constitutional democracy. The highly transparent and inclusive process of selecting our country&#8217;s new Public Protector has provided further evidence of the strength of our constitutional institutions.
All of this progress is threatened by the possible charge, or even arrest, of Finance Minister Gordhan.
No one is above the law. However, the present Hawks investigation of the Minister&#8217;s former role as SARS Commissioner lacks any legitimacy or credibility.
It is shocking that our national collective effort to avoid a ratings downgrade and to restore inclusive economic growth is now being so insidiously subverted. If this sinister behaviour is allowed to continue the consequences will be devastating for our economy, and will fatally undermine our national efforts to address poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
If there is to be an investigation into this issue, we would urge that this be conducted by a credible institution such as the Public Protector.
Mr President, our country stands once more on the edge of the abyss.  We urge you to act to preserve the unity and progress we have achieved since December by ensuring an end to the harassment, intimidation, and undermining of the leadership of our most important economic governance institutions.

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Zambian opposition leader charged with trying to overthrow government

Tanzanian frees musician arrested for mocking the government

Open letter to Pres. Zuma in response to S.A FinMin investigation

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arrest

Zambian opposition leader charged with trying to overthrow government

Tanzanian frees musician arrested for mocking the government

Open letter to Pres. Zuma in response to S.A FinMin investigation

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