Zambian President Michael Sata ordered Friday the arrest of scores of university students who took part in a protest against the government's decision to stop staple food subsidies. Hundreds of students from the University of Zambia marched to the state house, demanding an audience with the president. Sata who was away from the capital ordered the police and education officials to arrest and expel them.
"Hand them to the police and arrest them, and you minister your job will be to expel them," Sata said on national radio, referring to the minister of education. Police fired teargas to disperse the protest and several students were detained, in a demonstration marking growing discontent with Sata's administration. The decision early this week to stop subsidies for staples like maize caused a political outcry, in a country where 60 percent of population live in poverty, with an average income of $3.45 a day. Sata maintained that the decision to end subsides that largely went to millers was meant to ensure that there was equitable distribution of resources.