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DEPORTED . . . Mmusi Maimane

Johannesburg. – Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane was deported to South Africa, for trying to mobilise opposition parties to pressure for the release of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, when he landed in Zambia, his spokesperson Graham Charters said on Thursday night.

Charters said when Maimane arrived at the Lusaka Airport at around 6:30pm on Thursday, there were members of the police and immigration police already waiting for him on the tarmac on the runway. “They stormed the plane. Then things got a bit physical when they tried to remove Mr Maimane from the plane. When Mr Maimane tried to reach for his phone, his phone was confiscated by the legal authorities.”

Charters said there was a stalemate between Maimane and authorities for about half an hour, while Maimane demanded to know why he was not allowed into the country. “He was then ordered to take the next flight back to South Africa.”

Charters said the authorities did not give any reason for the ill-treatment “and the blocking of a constitutional office bearer, of a fellow African state”. “At a time where Africa needs to be moving towards a maturing democracy, and upholding the values of the rule of law, we can see that many of our African brothers and sisters are still subject to the regime of big-man politics,” Charters said as the incident happened and the country celebrated Africa Day. “He was not harmed but he was certainly shaken. There was a scuffle to get his phone but he was not physically harmed.”

Charters said Maimane had been deported back to South Africa and has landed. “We call on the South African government to take immediate action against such apartheid-like actions by the Zambian government,” he said.

Maimane could not be reached for comment. Maimane was refused entry into Zambia as he wanted to support Hichilema, leader of the opposition United Party for National Development, who went on trial for treason charges yesterday.

The maximum sentence for treason in Zambia is death. Zambia’s High Commissioner in South Africa, Emmanuel Mwamba, yesterday said Maimane was deported from Zambia because he intended pressurising the courts to release Hichilema.

Mwamba claimed that Maimane’s comments about Hichilema were problematic as he intended to mobilise Zambian opposition parties. “DA leader Mmusi Maimane was turned away from Zambia as his presence was going to undermine the sanctity, integrity and independence of the judiciary,” Mwamba said.

Mwamba claimed that Maimane had not been truthful in his statements about Hichilema and that he had dramatised what happened to him on Thursday evening.

Maimane said that Hichilema was violently arrested over six weeks ago for allegedly attempting to block Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s motorcade. “The violent nature of his arrest, and the inhumane treatment that Hichilema has received in detention, confirms the political motives behind these charges.

“I have no doubt these charges were manufactured by the Zambian government to intimidate those who are opposed to its oppressive rule, which is an abuse of power and a serious disregard of the rule of law.” – News24