Edgar Lungu, the former president of Zambia, has been advised not to jog in public after authorities labelled his weekly exercises as “political activism.”
His Saturday runs with members of the general public and Patriotic Front (PF) party supporters have drawn a lot of attention.
For upcoming jogging activities, Mr. Lungu has been instructed to request police authorisation.
The police order was issued amid rumours that he may run for president in 2026.
A police statement said that the PF’s failure to alert them of “public gatherings or demonstrations… amounts to a breach of the law. This is to ensure public safety.“
It added that a “procession of a former head of state should be done with his security detail and devoid of political activism“.
However, Makebu Zulu, the former president’s attorney, told the BBC that he would keep jogging without calling the police.
If the 66-year-old former president was prevented from exercising on Saturdays, Mr. Zulu threatened to sue the government.
“Mr Lungu has been jogging since time immemorial and his motivation has never been to contravene the law,” Mr Zulu said.
This appears to be the most recent limitation on the former president’s actions, who was in office from 2015 to 2021.
Some critics have claimed that President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration is employing the same methods he decried while in opposition.
Mr. Lungu recently filed a lawsuit against the government after it was claimed that he was prevented from attending a conference in South Korea. Later, he took the case back.
The PF also claimed that despite requesting approval from the cabinet office, the former president’s medical journey had been halted.
Home Affairs Minister Jacob Mwiimbu has been contacted by the BBC for comment, but no response has been given as of yet.
Despite having previously stated that he will leave politics after the 2021 election, Mr. Lungu has recently been raising his public presence.
It is commonly assumed that he intends to run for office in three years in an effort to seize on the growing resentment over rising petrol and food prices.
In 2021, Mr. Hichilema won with a big majority on the promise that he would address the nation’s economic issues.
He had already made five unsuccessful election campaigns.
