In Zambia, two opposition party leaders and two members of parliament have been detained on charges of espionage and incitement to public hatred and hostility.
Police spokesperson Danny Mwale announced to the press that the leader of the opposition Democratic and Development Forum, Edith Nawakwi, and the leader of the Christian Democratic Party, Dan Pule, along with independent members of parliament Munir Zulu and Maureen Mabonga, have been arrested.
The reasons for their arrest were cited as espionage and incitement to public hatred and hostility, and they are awaiting court appearances.
Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu remarked that these arrests were politically motivated, accusing the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) of suppressing the opposition and restricting freedom of expression.
The detained party leaders, Nawakwi and Pule, along with MPs Zulu and Mabonga, had previously alleged that independent MP Jay Jay Banda, who mysteriously disappeared on May 25, had been abducted by the government.
MP Banda reappeared in the capital, Lusaka, on May 26.