Zambia: politician arrested over allegedly faking image of president

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Secretary General Mambwe Zimba of Zambia was arrested on Tuesday, allegedly over a fake image posted on Facebook, depicting the country's president lying in a casket.

President Hakainde Hichilema is lying in a casket, and Vice President Mutale Nalumango pays his tributes to Zambia's deceased leader.

This is the content of a digitally altered image that was published on Facebook from Lusaka and which led to the arrest of politician Mambwe Zimba, Secretary General of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), a political party, on Tuesday.

There have been no indications from the press or the government that president Hichilema could have died or that his state of health could have deteriorated.

According to the local media Lusaka Times, preliminary information revealed that Zimba was one of the administrators of the Facebook page in question, called "Zambia for all 2026".

The 44-year-old politician reportedly remains in police custody in Lusaka. An inquiry is apparently underway since Sunday, when the police first received a report about the altered picture.