The Zambia Police Force has banned former President Edgar Lungu from weekly public jogging, which it described as “political activism”.
Former president Lungu has been making Saturday runs with supporters of his Patriotic Front (PF) party and members of the public.
The Saturday joggings have attracted increasing attention lately, with the police ordering that he obtain approval before future jogging outings.
This is coming amid speculations that Lungu may seek to contest the 2026 Presidential elections despite affirming his intention to retire from politics after he lost the 2021 election.
According to the Police statement, Lungu’s party’s failure to alert the Force of “Public gatherings or demonstrations… amounts to a breach of the law. This is to ensure public safety.”
The Zambia Police added that a “procession of a former head of state should be done with his security detail and devoid of political activism”.
President Lungu’s lawyer, Makebu Zulu, however, told the British Press, BBC, that he would proceed with his public jogging without alerting the police.
Zulu said he would take legal action if the government blocked the former president from his Saturday workouts.
He said, “Mr Lungu has been jogging since time immemorial and his motivation has never been to contravene the law.”
This is the latest apparent restriction on the former leader’s activities, who served as president from 2015 to 2021.
Earlier this month, his wife, the former First Lady of Zambia Esther Lungu, was invited by the Police for interrogation.
The Police did not state specific reasons for the invitation of the former First Lady, however, there were speculations that it might have had something to do with her husband, President Lungu’s involvement with Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa.
Some members of the public have said the current administration of President Hakainde Hichilema is currently using the same political tactics he had criticised during his years of opposition before his presidency.
Last week, Lungu headed to court to file a lawsuit after he was prevented from attending an event in South Korea.
Edgar Lungu was Zambia’s sixth President and served from January 2015 to August 2021. Prior to his tenure as head of state, he served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence respectively.
In June, the current administration seized over 20 properties connected to Lungu, a move described by his attorney as “a political witch hunt”.
President Hakainde had said the move was to clamp down on corruption, but detractors claim he is singling out political rivals.
Lungu’s properties that were formally taken by the Zambian government include 15 two-story flats, a lodge with three stories, a farm, and a house.
The properties were taken under the 2010 Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crimes Law, which gives the state the right to take possession of property it thinks was obtained unlawfully.