<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
He later fled the country as security officers planned to arrest him.<\/p>\n
Tanzania Opposition lawmaker Tundu Lissu waves from his wheelchair after giving a press conference surrounded by members of his family and supporters on January 5, 2018, at a hospital in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi
\nTundu Lissu was treated in Kenya following the attempt on his life in 2017<\/p>\n
Some of his colleagues in the Chadema party, including chairman Freeman Mbowe, were briefly detained.<\/p>\n
In May, Mr Mbowe was charged with terrorism-related offences. His supporters say he is facing \u201cpolitical persecution\u201d for campaigning for a new constitution.<\/p>\n
According to Tanzanian opposition politician Zitto Kabwe, only a new constitution that guarantees the independence of the electoral commission will ensure the opposition has a fair chance in the next poll.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Zambia, the institutions of democracy seem to be [more] responsive to people\u2019s will than in many parts of Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that the army, the police, the intelligence services, the electoral commission would allow the will of the people to be superior is a very strong message sent to the African continent,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u2018No shortcut to winning\u2019<\/p>\n
The ripple effects of this message have spread far and wide, especially in Zambia\u2019s southern neighbour, Zimbabwe, where it has sparked frenzied exchanges between the main opposition politician, Nelson Chamisa, and officials of the ruling Zanu-PF party, which has been in power since independence in 1980.<\/p>\n
\u201cZimbabwe you are next,\u201d the opposition leader tweeted, in a post congratulating Mr Hichilema.<\/p>\n
President Emmerson Mnangagwa retorted: \u201cWhat happened in Zambia will not happen here.\u201d<\/p>\n
His spokesperson even hinted that the army would not allow a transfer of power to the opposition.<\/p>\n
An anti-riot policeman in Zimbabwe tackles a woman with his boot as they dispersed a crowd gathered to hear an address by the leader of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) Alliance, Nelson Chamisa at Morgan Tsvangirai House, the party headquarters, in Harare, on November 20, 2019<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe\u2019s security forces are notorious for cracking down on the opposition<\/p>\n
But a spokesperson for Mr Chamisa\u2019s MDC-Alliance, Fadzayi Mahere, told the BBC that Mr Hichilema\u2019s victory showed \u201cthat the fight for democracy can be won, that people can get together to remove a dictatorship\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ms Mahere added that there was \u201cno shortcut to winning\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said Zimbabwe\u2019s opposition would have to emulate Mr Hichilema\u2019s United Party for National Development (UPND) party by registering new voters, engaging the youth, protecting the vote from rigging and, most importantly, focusing on the key issues that people want to be addressed \u2013 fixing the battered economy, creating jobs for the many unemployed youths, and ending the culture of impunity in government.<\/p>\n
It is a message Mmusi Maimane, the former South African opposition leader and a friend of Mr Hichilema, has also been pushing.<\/p>\n
He egged on the MDC Alliance, saying: \u201cZimbabwe, the example has been set.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people of Zambia have rejected poverty and corruption. The people of Zambia have rejected arrogance and laziness. They have chosen a future worth working for,\u201d Mr Maimane added in his message.<\/p>\n
\u2018Presidents are servants\u2019<\/p>\n
In Kenya, supporters of veteran political leader Raila Odinga have also been heartened by Mr Hichilema\u2019s win, as the 76-year-old politician prepares to run for the presidency for the fifth time in 2022.<\/p>\n
Mr Odinga said the Zambian election result \u201creminds fellow Africans elsewhere that nothing is impossible\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Odinga is due to attend the inauguration, along with opposition politicians from other African states, in a clear sign that Mr Hichilema does not intend to abandon them now that he is in office.<\/p>\n
Supporters of Zambian President-elect for the opposition party United Party for National Development (UPND) Hakainde Hichilema gestures as they ride on a pickup truck in the streets of Lusaka on August 16, 2021.<\/p>\n
Young Zambians threw their weight behind Hakainde Hichilema in the election<\/p>\n
Aware of the interest the election has generated on the continent, UPND spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa told the BBC there was \u201cno secret strategy\u201d behind their victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a victory for Zambians. They voted in large numbers because they want us to deal with corruption, fix unemployment, end political violence and dictatorship,\u201d Mr Mweetwa said.<\/p>\n
Observers also credit Mr Hichilema, 59, for broadening his appeal amongst the youth, a key constituency that nicknamed him Bally \u2013 slang for father \u2013 because of his focus on issues they could relate to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not masters of the people, we are their servants,\u201d Mr Hichilema tweeted after he was declared the poll winner.<\/p>\n
The post sparked a lot of reactions from across the continent.<\/p>\n
However, some cautioned that they have previously seen other new leaders portrayed as liberators only for them to turn into tormentors once in power.<\/p>\n
Zambians and others across Africa will be watching closely.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zambia\u2019s veteran opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is set to be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":82814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[219],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",750,406,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1-300x162.jpg",300,162,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",640,346,false],"large":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",640,346,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",750,406,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",750,406,false],"chromenews-featured":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",750,406,false],"chromenews-large":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",750,406,false],"chromenews-medium":["https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hakainde-Hichilema-750x406-1.jpg",590,319,false]},"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/author\/"},"category_info":"World News<\/a>","tag_info":"World News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82813"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82815,"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82813\/revisions\/82815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extranewsgh.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}