Cde Fred Mmembe, leader and presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of Zambia
On 8 August 2024, the Zambian Police arrested and detained Cde Fred Mmembe, leader and presidential
candidate of the Socialist Party of Zambia, on charges of sedition. He was held incommunicado
for at least 15 hours. On 9 August, his bail application was frustrated by the flimsy excuse
that the police station chosen to process it was closed for repair. Fred was returned to the cells for
another night. The Zambian Police intend to detain him over the weekend. We can only hope that
the Zambian courts will intervene to protect his rights.
Cde Mmembe’s “offence” is a newspaper article reporting an encounter between Congolese President
Felix Tshisekedi and Catholic Bishops in Kinshasa. President Tshisekedi allegedly boasted
that he had purchased support from neighbouring leaders (except President Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe).
This includes included a US$ 20 million payment to “Zambia”. In return for this, Tshisekedi’s
domestic critics and opponents, including former President Kabila, seeking haven in the region
would be “apprehended and sent back to Congo-DR”. Cde Mmembe demands that “… the Zambian
authorities come clean on Mr Tshisekedi’s huge pay-out claims”.
SMG rejects the claim that this article is “seditious”. Cde Mmembe is a professional journalist.
Zambian citizens have a right to know if Zambian officials are conspiring to repress political dissent
in DRC. The proper response to such an allegation is to deny its veracity and institute defamation
proceedings against Mmembe and/or summon the Ambassador of DRC to protest the conduct of
its government. Alternatively, the Zambian government can “come clean” and defend its actions.
The solution is not to silence the journalist who has exposed this scandal.
Cde Mmembe’s arrest and detention without bail are political. The Hichilema administration, like
so many regimes across the continent, seeks to silence its critics and thereby end growing opposition
to the neocolonial exploitation it presides over. This is not the first time that Cde Mmembe,
SP’s presidential candidate and a prominent figure in the Pan-African struggle, has faced political
harassment under President Hichilema. He has been falsely accused of many crimes. He has been
regularly defamed by Zambian State security, rough-shadowed, threatened with arrest, arrested,
and detained. Other leaders of SP and their families too have faced harassment and physical assault.
SP cadre engaged in lawful political campaigns have been killed by ruling party thugs.
A wave of resistance is gathering momentum across Africa. It should be clear to the Zambian government
and to all neo-colonial leaders that such acts of repression only energise this wave. What Zambia,
Ghana, and Africa need is for political leaders to submit to the will of the people and build a continent
of prosperity for Africans, not just private foreign business interests. The heavy-handed response
of the Zambian authority is more likely to spark unrest than Cde Fred’s publication.
The Socialist Movement of Ghana stands in solidarity with Cde Mmembe, the Socialist Party of
Zambia and the Zambian people in their struggle for economic and social justice. We call for Cde.
Mmembe’s immediate release.
Signed.
Kwesi Pratt Jnr.
General Secretary
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