New President of Zambia sworn in

Hakainde Hichilema, Zambia’s veteran opposition leader, was sworn in as president in front of a packed stadium in the capital, Lusaka.

His election has boosted the hopes of his African counterparts that they, too, can overcome state repression and rise to power one day.

Mr Hichilema was brutalized, tear-gassed, and even detained for a traffic offense deemed treasonous in 2017 after his convoy failed to give way to outgoing President Edgar Lungu’s motorcade.

But, in an extraordinary turn of events, the man once labeled a state enemy will be sworn in as Zambia’s seventh president on August 12 after defeating Mr Lungu in their most recent election duel.

Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after being shot 16 times by people he believes were state agents, said, “It’s massively inspirational.”

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“No matter what they put us through, no matter the odds,” he added, “Zambians have shown us it can be done.”

Mr Lissu was defeated in last year’s election, which he claims was rigged, by late President John Magufuli.

He later fled the country because he was about to be arrested by security officers.