Zambian President Edgar Lungu has recently said that he would seek approval from the parliament to impose a state of emergency following a fire incidence which occurred in the country’s biggest market.
Lungu perceives the fire outbreak which destroyed the southern part of City Market in the capital Lusaka on Tuesday to be politically motivated and is geared towards making the country unstable and ungovernable.
Political tension has been on the rise since the arrest of main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, who narrowly lost to Lungu in a bruising election last year.
Under Zambian state of emergency laws, police can prohibit public meetings, close roads, impose curfews and restrict movements.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the intention of these perpetrators is to make the country ungovernable and as president of this country it is my responsibility to respond to forestall chaos,” Lungu said.