Zambia's Hichilema sworn in as rival faces treason

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday while main opposition leader Brian Mundubile, the runner-up in last month's election, remained in jail on treason charges he denies.

Thousands of supporters wearing the red colours of Hichilema's UPND party filled a stadium in Lusaka as the 64-year-old took the oath at a ceremony attended by a handful of African leaders.

Official results from the August 13 election gave Hichilema 60 percent of the vote. Mundubile, a former provincial government minister, received 38 percent.

The ballot drew allegations of intimidation, pro-government bias and restrictions on the opposition. International observers criticised the arrests, a pause in ballot-counting and opposition claims of intimidation before the vote.

Security forces raided Mundubile's home on August 14, saying they were targeting a suspected militia that posed a national security threat. Mundubile's NRPUP alliance strongly rejected that claim.

A former cabinet minister was shot and killed in the operation, and 11 members of Mundubile's camp were arrested. Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, surrendered to police nearly two weeks later. Their lawyer said at the weekend that they had been charged with treason, which they deny.

Hichilema's first five-year term began in 2021. He has been credited with an economic turnaround and pursued market-friendly reforms, abolished the death penalty and made primary and secondary education free. Critics say the growth has not yet delivered better living standards for households facing rising prices.

More than 70 percent of Zambia's 22 million people live on less than three dollars a day, according to World Bank data. Copper remains the backbone of the economy, generating around 70 percent of export earnings, with China a major investor and Zambia's largest bilateral creditor.

Mundubile and Zulu have roots in the Patriot Front party once led by late former president Edgar Lungu, Hichilema's predecessor and rival. After losing the 2016 presidential election to Lungu, Hichilema was charged with treason for allegedly failing to pull over for the presidential motorcade. He spent four months in a maximum-security prison before the charges were dropped.