Lusaka - Demonstrations against Zambian President Frederick Chiluba spread through the capital on Wednesday, as students increased their protests at his unconstitutional bid for a third term in office.
The government deployed armed police at strategic points throughout the city, for fear the protests would spread to the city centre and residential areas after students at universities and colleges walked out of classes to join in demonstrations.
The protest began late on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday at the University of Zambia, where hundreds of placard-waving students chanting anti-Chiluba songs temporarily set up barricades on a main highway adjacent to the campus.
They were expecting Chiluba to use the road on his return from the ruling party convention.
"We want to send a message to parliament that they should oppose any constitutional changes. If they allow a third term (for Chiluba), we shall take the law into our hands and chase Chiluba out of power," said student leader Kelvin Habwenzya.
Riot police stopped them and sealed off the campus, but protests only grew as students at other schools joined in.
Police struggled to disperse scores of students from Evelyn Hone College, the third largest in Zambia, who attempted to leave campus to protest in the streets against Chiluba.
"We are going to make this country ungovernable if Chiluba goes for a third term. This country does not belong to an individual," said Emmanuel Bwalya, a student.
Armed police managed to seal off Evelyn Hone College and a nursing school in the capital, where students also left classes to protest against Chiluba.
Students from Copperbelt University, in the central Copperbelt province, also staged a demonstration on their campus against Chiluba's re-election bid, private radio station Phoenix reported.
Rivals within Chiluba's own Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) organised busloads of placard-carrying youths to demonstrate at the national assembly building, urging members of parliament to reject any constitutional changes aimed at accommodating Chiluba's ambitions.
Police broke up the protest, saying the youths had not obtained a permit to hold a public demonstration, according to a government minister who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The broadening protests came amid growing opposition in Zambia to Chiluba's attempts to hold on to power. Dissident members of the ruling party, backed by donors, business, religious and civic groups, have all urged Chiluba not to seek re-election.
Chiluba on Monday publicly announced his candidacy, after the MMD national convention agreed to back his effort to amend Zambia's constitution to allow him to run for a third five-year term in elections due late this year.
But more than 200 senior party members boycotted the convention.
Most of them walked out on Saturday after three cabinet ministers were beaten and other Chiluba rivals were harassed.
Chiluba loyalist had planned to vote out all the boycotters on Tuesday, but his rivals won a High Court order putting the vote on hold until a court hearing set for Friday.
A purge of party dissidents would boost Chiluba's efforts to strip Zambia's constitution of its two-term presidential limit because the 60-odd MMD lawmakers who have vowed to vote against amending the constitution would lose their seats in parliament if they lost their party membership.
More than 80 of Zambia's 158 parliamentarians have signed a petition vowing to oppose the amendment, including about 60 MMD deputies, 20 opposition members and a handful of independents. - Sapa-AFP