Hichilema had said on June 11, that the governing Patriotic Front (PF) had entered into an agreement with Sudan to train a party militia in that country. It followed the disclosure by the PF General-Secretary Wynter Kabimba that the PF had signed an agreement with the governing National Congress Party of Sudan to train Zambians there. Government reacted angrily to Hichilema's statement saying it threatened relations with a sister African country.Defence Minister, Geoffrey Mwamba was particularly furious insisting that the statement risked relations with Sudan where Zambian security personnel were involved in African Union (AU) peace keeping duties. Police recorded a statement from Hichilema then and the matter seemed to have died down - until now.
Apparently the police referred it to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP): In his letter dated August 8, the DPP Mutembo Nchito directed the police to either obtain a pubic retraction from Hichilema or charge him if he would not retract: "The suspect should be summoned to appear before the investigators immediately and be given an opportunity to retract the inaccurate statement. Should he proceed in this fashion, I direct that the docket be closed and no further action should be taken. Should he refuse to retract, have the suspect arrested and arraigned in court," read the letter.The opposition leader would not repudiate the statement and was subsequently charged.
