Update: On December 21, 2018, Pilato was acquitted of all charges. Thank you for lending your voice to speak out against this violation of freedom of expression.

Fumba Chama (known widely by his stage name, Pilato) is a Zambian hip-hop artist who is currently facing charges related to his “illegal” participation in a December 2017 protest in Lusaka, Zambia. After nearly five months of self-imposed exile in South Africa, Pilato returned to Zambia on May 17, 2018 and was immediately arrested per an open request warrant related to the December protest. However, Pilato maintains that he is really being targeted for a political song he released last December and for which he received a number of death threats before fleeing the country last January.

The song in question, Koswe Mumpoto (“Rat in the Pot”), became an instant hit with Zambian listeners but also spurred an immediate reaction from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), which interpreted the song to be a direct attack on President Edgar Lungu and banned Pilato from performing publicly for several weeks. After receiving threatening phone calls, messages, and notes from Lungu’s supporters during this time, Pilato fled Ndola, his hometown, for Lusaka, where he continued to receive death threats directly from the Youth Wing of the PF. He fled to South Africa in mid-January.

Zambian officials issued a warrant for Pilato’s arrest on February 5, citing his refusal to obey orders to stop demonstration publicly back in December at a protest against the government’s procurement of 42 fire trucks at a cost of $1 million each, which he and others alleged at the time was an example of government corruption. Pilato insists that the protest in question was peaceful, and that the government’s decision to prosecute him on these trumped up charges is due to the fact that there is no legal recourse to try him for the contents of his banned song.

Upon his arrival at Lusaka Airport on May 17, Pilato was immediately arrested by plainclothes police officers and taken to detention. The same day, a magistrate declared that Pilato must remain detained until May 21, as he had missed a previous court date in his absence. After spending several days in jail, Pilato was indeed allowed to walk free on $3,000 bail and is expected to appear in court on June 25.