LUSAKA
(Reuters) - Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was freed from
prison on Wednesday after the state prosecutor dropped charges of
plotting to overthrow the government, but a judge warned him he could be
arrested again at any time.
Hichilema and five
others were arrested in April and charged with treason after his convoy
failed to make way for President Edgar Lungu's motorcade. His release
could help defuse tensions in the southern African country, where Lungu
imposed a state of emergency in July.
High
Court judge Charles Chanda told Hichilema and his co-accused that the
prosecutor had terminated the proceedings but their discharge was
conditional.
"This is not an acquittal as you can be arrested any time over the same offence. For now you are free to go home," he said.
Hichilema's
supporters were jubilant, but he showed no emotion as he listened to
the judge. He then drove from prison to the headquarters of his United
Party for National Development (UPND) in an open-roof Toyota Land
Cruiser and waved to supporters over the 5 km (3 miles) stretch.
In
a speech outside the building, he called on the government to free
several members of the party who are still detained over various
charges.
"As of yesterday, some of our members
were arrested. Even today, as I speak, others were arrested," Hichilema
told hundreds of supporters, without giving details of the cases.
"Zambia's
criminal justice system has broken down. I can't say I am free when our
members are in detention," Hichilema said, adding "I am willing to go
back to prison" if the arrests persisted.
Hundred
of people celebrated outside the prison, singing, dancing and waving
red and yellow UPND flags. Others marched outside the party's
headquarters, shouting Hichilema's name and punching the air in victory.
"It is good he is out, but sad that he has
been released conditionally. We would have loved him to be acquitted,"
said Peter Simukonda, a 26-year-old University of Zambia student.
DISPUTED ELECTION
After
the initial treason charge over the motorcade incident, Hichilema was
later accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
The
case has heightened political friction in Zambia, a major copper
producer which is seen as one of Africa's more stable democracies, after
a bruising election last year in which Lungu's Patriotic Front defeated
Hichilema's UPND.
A government spokesman said the release of Hichilema showed the state did not interfere with the courts.
"We
accept what has happened today and respect the decision of the DPP,"
chief government spokeswoman Kampamba Mulenga said. "This shows that
the government does not interfere with the judicial system."
Hichilema,
an economist and businessman widely known as HH, mounted an
unsuccessful legal challenge claiming the poll was rigged. His release
could ease tensions in the run-up to elections in 2021, analysts said.
"It
signifies the beginning of the reconciliation process, with the next
elections being central," said Alex Ng'oma, a political science lecturer
at the University of Zambia.
Government and
legal sources had told Reuters on Sunday that Zambia's government would
drop the treason charges and free Hichilema under a deal brokered by
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.
Scotland
visited Zambia last week and told reporters she had met Lungu and
Hichilema separately and that the two leaders had agreed to a process of
dialogue facilitated by her office.
In a
statement, Scotland said she hoped the decision to drop charges would
help Zambia "achieve political cohesion and reconciliation through
dialogue".
A Zambian official said the
Commonwealth would be appointing a special envoy to facilitate the talks
between Lungu and Hichilema along with other political players.
Last
month Lungu invoked emergency powers to deal with "acts of sabotage" by
his political opponents, after fire gutted the country's biggest
market. The powers allow police to ban public meetings, detain suspects
longer than usual, search without a warrant, close roads, impose curfews
and restrict certain people's movements.
Writing by James Macharia
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