A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Zambia for allegedly defaming President Edgar Lungu in Facebook posts, police said Wednesday as critics accuse the regime of turning increasingly authoritarian.
The unnamed teenager based in the central small town of Kapiri Mposhi was arrested on Monday and charged with three counts of libel. He will appear in court “soon”, police said.
“Police have charged and arrested a male juvenile aged 15 years for the offence of defamation of the president,” police spokesperson Esther Katongo said in a statement.
“The suspect is alleged to have created a Facebook page using the name ZOOM and published defamatory matters against the republican president.”
The juvenile faces a maximum five-year jail term.
