Zambian police arrested two people after rioters set fire to a police vehicle and threw stones during President Hakainde Hichilema’s visit to Chingola on Saturday, authorities said, though the ruling party disputed the severity of the incident.
Police said unruly individuals began looting shops at Chiwempala Market around 1400 GMT while Hichilema was addressing residents. When officers moved to contain the situation, the crowd turned violent and charged toward the venue where the president was speaking, according to a statement from police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga.
Hichilema was safely evacuated to a nearby landing pad at Chikola Secondary School, but the mob followed the presidential motorcade and threw stones at vehicles, police said. Rioters overturned and set ablaze a police Toyota Land Cruiser after shattering its windscreen.
Superintendent Lloyd Kanondo, who was driving the vehicle, discharged 10 rounds of pistol ammunition into the air in an attempt to disperse the mob, police said. Rioters also burned a presidential tent, a portable toilet, and damaged other vehicles, according to the statement.
Police arrested Abraham Chilumbu, 24, and Abraham Sichone, 21, both from Chingola. Both suspects remain in custody and will appear in court soon, Hamoonga said.
The president had traveled to Chingola to address residents affected by a recent fire that destroyed the Chiwempala Market, a major trading center in the Copperbelt mining region. The ruling United Party for National Development said Hichilema donated 10 million kwacha ($360,000) to assist traders.
The UPND downplayed the violence in a separate statement, describing it as a “minor and isolated incident” that occurred when youths climbed onto shop roofs to view the president and police intervened for safety reasons.
“The Chiwempala engagement was peaceful, productive, and successfully concluded,” said Frank Bwalya, director general for media at the UPND presidential support program.
Police said calm has been restored in Chingola and patrols have been intensified. The Zambia Police Service warned against violence during national events, saying such behavior would be met with the full force of the law.
Chingola, located in Zambia’s copper-producing Copperbelt Province, has experienced several incidents of unrest in recent months, including riots in July involving illegal small-scale miners known as “jerabos” who were displaced from mining sites.