BINOCULARS DOWN, FISTS UP
…. Raphael Nakacinda walks free, vows to amplify political battle against UPND
By DAVID KANDUZA
THE Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Raphael Nakacinda officially walked out of the Lusaka Central Correctional Facility, widely known as Chimbokaila, following the completion of his prison sentence.
The prominent opposition figure was released today October 21, 2026, exactly one year after he began serving an 18-month sentence with hard labour for defaming President Hakainde Hichilema.
His release follows the application of standard statutory remission under the Zambia Correctional Service Act, which reduced his time behind bars to 12 months for good behaviour.
The atmosphere outside the prison gates was electric as scores of green-clad PF loyalists and members of the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance had gathered as early as dawn, their chants and political songs echoing against the concrete walls of Chimbokaila.
When Nakacinda finally stepped through the gates, the crowd erupted into cheers, hoisting him onto their shoulders.
Though looking slightly leaner from his time in State custody, his political posture remained entirely unbroken.
“Prison has not broken us; it has only refined our resolve,” Mr Nakacinda declared to the roaring crowd outside the penitentiary gates, echoing sentiments from his previous brief stints in custody.
“We entered those gates as prisoners of justice, and we emerge ready to breathe fire to challenge this administration”.
Mr Nakacinda’s imprisonment stems from a highly contentious legal saga that gripped Zambian politics.
He was originally convicted in May 2024 by Lusaka Magistrate Irene Wishimanga after making a public address claiming that President Hichilema was summoning judges to his private residence to influence legal battles against the PF.
Although President Hichilema assented to legislation repealing the penal code section on criminal defamation of the president in December 2022, the courts ruled that the law remained applicable because the offence occurred in January 2022, before the law was abolished.
Following an unsuccessful appeal, the Lusaka High Court upheld the conviction and Nakacinda surrendered to authorities to begin serving his term on October 21, 2025.
During his time behind bars, Mr Nakacinda’s legal woes multiplied.
In December 2025, he was handed an additional six-month sentence with hard labour for hate speech regarding remarks about voters in Bweengwa.
However, Principal Magistrate Idah Phiri ordered that sentence to run concurrently with his existing 18-month term, meaning it did not extend his stay past today’s release date.
More recently, in August 2026, he was convicted of seditious practices over separate statements regarding law enforcement operations but avoided further jail time by paying a K2,400 court fine.
The UPND had maintained that Mr Nakacinda’s legal battles were a matter of law and order rather than political persecution, emphasising that the judiciary acted independently.