UPND disturbed that HH is being kept in unfit conditions

Charles Kakoma

Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has described as cruel and unfit for human habitation conditions under which its incarcerated leader Hakainde Hichilema is being kept at Mukobeko maximum correctional facility in Kabwe.

UPND Spokesperson Charles Kakoma says Mr. Hichilema was made to spend a night in an overcrowded cell of about 179 people on the day he was transferred from Lusaka Central Prison to Mukobeko.

Mr. Kakoma says some of the inmates the UPND leader shared a cell with had chronic chest infections as they were coughing throughout the night.

He states that some of the horrifying stories circulating on social media about the inhuman and degrading treatment Mr Hichilema is being subjected to are true.

He adds that the UPND leader is made to go outside his cell and draw water from a common tap and bath in full view of other inmates describing the situation as degrading and dehumanizing.

Mr. Kakoma says the UPND demands that family members, lawyers, the media and human rights organizations be given the opportunity to tour the section where Mr Hichilema is being detained.

But Zambia Correctional Service Commissioner General Percy Chato says those visiting incarcerated UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema should stop lying about prison conditions.