YUYI STILL IN POLICE CUSTODY 2 WEEKS AFTER ARREST
Lawyers representing former Copperbelt Province Police Commanding Officer Mwala Yuyi and others says their clients have not been taken to court since they were detained.
Lawyer George Mulenga said the accused have been in police custody since July 29, 2026.
He said Mr. Yuyi and others suspects are being detained illegally.
“They are charged with theft by public servant and giving false information to a public officer,” he said.
Mr Mulenga said the habeas corpus application he filed in court had been dismissed.
He called on the police to immediately take his clients to court.
Mr Yuyi and a magistrate were among six people who had been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged theft of copper cathodes.
The charges followed investigations into the alleged theft of 436 copper cathodes valued at US$448,596.
The copper cathodes had been recovered in the Mokambo area of Mufulira District between March 6 and 9, 2026.
In a statement, police spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi said police officers Patrick Muti and Boniface Nchimunya, Clerk of Court Obrian Chipunza, and Magistrate Edward Banda, all of Mufulira, had been jointly charged with one count of theft by public servant and one count of giving false information to a public officer.
Businessman Daniel Makina had been charged with one count of receiving property suspected to have been stolen and one count of giving false information to a public officer.
“It is alleged that the copper was being transported from the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa when the truck carrying the consignment was diverted into Zambia. The consignment was later recovered by police in the Mokambo area of Mufulira District,” Mr Chilabi said.