President Hakainde Hichilema has appointed new heads of the Zambian Defence Force and the police, days after he took office following a landslide victory in this month’s general elections.
The Zambian Defence Force comprises the Zambian Army, Zambian Air Force (ZAF) and Zambian National Service (ZNS).
Hichilema announced in a televised address to the nation on Sunday that he had elevated Dennis Alibuzwi to the position of Zambia Army commander taking over from William Sikazwe.
He also appointed Collin Barry as new ZAF chief and Patrick Solochi as ZNS commandant. Barry and Solochi take over from David Muma and Nathan Mulenga who headed the ZAF and ZNS, respectively.
Hichilema also appointed Lemmy Kajoba as inspector general of the Zambia Police Service, taking over from Kakoma Kanganja who has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.
The Zambian leader has been arrested over several times in recent years, including in 2017 when police raided his house in the capital Lusaka and arrested him on alleged treason charges for failing to stop for the motorcade of his predecessor Edgar Lungu.
JN/APA