Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Zambia

Temporary ban on political rallies

    JOHANNESBURG

    Zambian police said on Thursday they had banned political rallies in light of a solar eclipse on 21 June and an Organisation of African Unity summit in July, Reuters reported. Opposition parties immediately rejected the ban as illegal and said they would ignore it.

    Police spokesman Lemmy Kajoba said rallies were banned between 15-26 June and between 2-10 July - because Zambia did not have enough security officers to monitor rallies as well as police the two events. The first solar eclipse of the new millennium and the first in Zambia for 380 years will be seen across Zambia, as well as Namibia, Angola, Mozambique and Madagascar on 21 June.

    “We need to mobilise all police officers available for the two events. That’s why we have to scale down on other activities that can be rescheduled, such as rallies,” Kajoba said.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join