 Thanksgiving Prayers were held to celebrate Hichilema's release from jail at the Cathedral of Holy Cross in Lusaka on 29 August 2017 and Hichilema was present at the event which drew large crowds and was aired live on Television.The event was originally scheduled to take place the previous week on 24 August but was blocked by heavily armed state police who sealed off the venue.Hichilema became more popular after his release and was awarded the Africa Freedom Award in Johannesburg, South Africa.