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Patriotic Front (PF) Chairperson for Information and Publicity, Emmanuel Mwamba, has demanded the release of the party’s Secretary-General Raphael Nakacinda, describing his conviction as “outrageous.”
Nakacinda, who also serves as Secretary General of the Tonse Alliance, was recently jailed for criminal defamation of the President.
Mwamba told Zambia Monitor in an interview that Nakacinda’s conviction was invalid, arguing it was based on a repealed law.
“Nakacinda should immediately be released as his conviction occurred two years after the law was repealed,” he said.
He expressed disappointment that the higher court upheld the ruling, saying it should have recognised what he termed “the absurdity” of the conviction.
“Further, Nakacinda’s fears expressed in the case—that the Judiciary was under the direct control of President Hakainde Hichilema and being used to punish his political opponents and critics—is now proven, a foregone conclusion, and an established fact,” Mwamba said.
He claimed that Nakacinda’s statements merely reflected what he described as “common knowledge” that President Hichilema had “degenerated into a tyrant.”
Mwamba accused the Head of State of punishing political opponents and critics by allegedly abusing the law and state institutions such as law enforcement agencies, the State Chambers, and the Judiciary.
Nakacinda was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by Lusaka Magistrate Ireen Wishimanga on May 17, 2024, after being found guilty of defaming President Hichilema through remarks suggesting the President was meeting and coercing judges at his residence to punish political opponents.
His appeal was dismissed by High Court Judge Anne Mary Kachenga Malata Ononuju on October 21, 2025, who upheld the conviction and sentence.
Mwamba further criticised the Judiciary, saying it had become “assailable and vulnerable” to criticism because of alleged inconsistencies.
“Take, for example, the coordinated action by the Judiciary to deny, without shame or justification, persons facing politically motivated cases, bail pending appeal,” he said.
Mwamba added that Nakacinda demonstrated in his defence that President Hichilema, his former Special Assistant for Politics Levy Ngoma, and then Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe had publicly made remarks suggesting influence over the Judiciary.
He said the court justified the criminal charge by stating that civil defamation could not apply because the President is immune from civil and criminal proceedings.
Mwamba further claimed that international human rights organisations had raised concerns about Zambia’s governance trajectory.
Read More: PF’s Nakacinda arrested for alleged seditious statements
“International human rights reports have expressed deep concern that Zambia has fallen into a dictatorship, with President Hichilema becoming a tyrannical leader exerting control over Parliament and the Judiciary,” he said.
Mwamba alleged that the President had a “chokehold” on democratic institutions such as the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the Zambia Police, and the Registrar of Societies.
“President Hichilema has such strong control of the Judiciary that all his wishes, such as the creation of an Economic and Financial Crimes Court targeting his political opponents, have been implemented just as he decreed,” he said.
He also alleged that the ongoing PF leadership dispute had been “actively facilitated” by the Judiciary—an issue, he claimed, that church mother bodies, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), and some civil society organisations had raised concerns about.
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