
According to sources,today tuesday,the Zambian police briefly detained two journalists over a story quoting an opposition leaders saying President Edgar Lungu used public funds to pay for a holiday.According to Police spokeswoman Charity Munganga-Chanda,who said that the ''Two journalists from a privately owned newspaper were released after paying a bond.The two have been jointly charged with Erick Chanda.They will appear in court on 18th April''.The offence carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.On March 21,Erick Chanda,leader of the Fourth Revolution Party,was charged with defamation of the president following a May 9,2015 newspaper report in which he accused Lungu of having spent taxpayers money at a holiday resort last year.Critics say that with the series of arrests,Lungu is trying to intimidate opponents ahead of the elections.Lungi,who is standing for re-election,has been in power for just over year after winning a closely fought presidential race triggered by the death of predecessor Michael Sata in October 2014.He and United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema are seen as front runners in the vote for president on August 11 when parliamentary and local government elections will also be held.One more photo below.
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