WIFE SEEKS HABEAS CORPUS FOR ZNS OFFICER DETAINED WITHOUT CHARGE
The wife of a detained Zambia National Service-ZNS-officer, Margret Museka Mazyopa, has applied for a writ of habeas corpus in the Lusaka High court seeking the release of her husband, Masulani Andrew Mazyopa, who she says has been in detention without charge.
In her submission, Mrs. Mazyopa states that her husband was taken into custody on August 27, 2026, after being interviewed by Drug Enforcement Commission-DEC-officers at his workstation at ZNS headquarters along Church Road in Lusaka.
She says Mr. Mazyopa has since been detained at woodlands police station for more than seven days without being formally charged, and without being furnished with particulars of the alleged offence or the legal basis for his continued detention
Mrs. Mazyopa further contends that the continued detention without charge or production before a competent court is unlawful and amounts to an infringement of her husband’s fundamental rights, including the right to personal liberty and protection of the law.
She has also raised concerns over Mr. Mazyopa’s health, stating that he suffers from hypertension and that his condition is deteriorating while in detention as he is being held in an overcrowded cell with only one lavatory and inadequate sanitation, which she says is adversely affecting his health and wellbeing.
Mrs. Mazyopa told the court that her husband is unable to personally make the application because his lawyer has allegedly been denied physical access to him since September 2, 2026.
She has cited Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha as the respondent and is seeking an order for her husband’s immediate release, saying habeas corpus is the available interim remedy to challenge the legality of his continued detention.
PN