Tayali Arrested For ‘Defaming’ President Lungu
Police in Lusaka have arrested Economic and Equity Party President Chilufya Tayali for allegedly defaming President Lungu on social media.
The arrest is in relation to a video Mr Tayali shared on Facebook, which criticises President Lungu for defending notorious Patriotic Front firebrand Innocent Kalimanshi.
In the caption for the video, Mr Tayali writes, “President Lungu should not support hooliganism, Kalimanshi is the personification of hooliganism.”
He continues, “Its now clear to me that he is the one that has been funding him and protecting him, this is unacceptable”.
It follows Kalimanshi’s violent and upsetting antics at a PF gathering in Lusaka, to celebrate the return of former opposition leader Chishima Kambwili to the governing party.
At the event, Kalimanshi led a band of his supporters into the PF Secretariat building and smashed a table. They also injured two journalists – Francis Maingaila and Nancy Malwele – prompting fierce condemnation from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The incident has caused the PF to distance itself from Kalimanshi, who claims to be a ‘commander’ within the party.
Mr Tayali is now in police custody for speaking out against the violence, confirming a concerning pattern of arrests made against opposition figures in recent months.
In March, 30 United Party for National Development youths were arrested on the Copperbelt for peacefully celebrating youth day and in April, 9 UPND officials were arrested in Petauke for alleged unlawful assembly while conducting a district adoption ceremony.
The accusations of ‘defamation’ made against Mr Tayali are also worryingly similar to the charges levelled against UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema in 2016, when he was accused of sedition and endangering the president’s life when his car blocked President Lungu’s motorcade.
The arrest prompted strong condemnation from international observers, including the US and the EU and prompted protests across Zambia, South Africa and the UK.
Chilufya Tayali was arrested for a post he shared on social media criticising President Lungu