On 20 November 2018, Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was questioned by police over allegations that he helped fuel anti-Chinese protests in Kitwe, in the Copperbelt Province.
State radio said police in Ndola had recorded a warn and caution statement from the United Party for National Development leader. Authorities accused him of inciting rioting after he said the Zambia Forest and Forestry Industries Corporation Limited, or ZAFFICO, had been sold to Chinese interests. The government rejected that claim.
Police said the remarks could breach the peace and were also seditious. The dispute came as tensions over Chinese involvement in Zambia’s economy resurfaced.
Earlier in the month, police arrested more than 100 people during a crackdown in the Copperbelt against rioters protesting the alleged sale of ZAFFICO. The demonstrators were demanding answers from the government.
The unrest broke out while President Edgar Lungu was on a working visit to the region to inspect the new Ndola International Airport, which is being built by AVIC International, a Chinese firm.
The government described the protests as xenophobic and said opposition groups were behind the agitation. State television reported that Chinese nationals were seen weeping after their shops were looted.
On Tuesday, the Lusaka government also said President Xi Jinping had formally complained about the treatment of Chinese nationals. In Kitwe, angry protesters stoned police and blocked most of the main roads in town.
The episode came after Zambia denied entry to Kenyan law professor PLO Lumumba, who had been due to address a university on a Chinese topic.
