LUSAKA HIGH COURT ADJOURNS MUNDUBILE, MAKEBI & 16 OTHERS TO NOV 5 FOR BAIL RULING OR HEARING
By Court Reporter – Lusaka
29th October 26
The Lusaka High Court has adjourned the treason case of leading opposition leader Hon. Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and 16 others to 5th November – 7 days from today – to allow the State to study affidavits the defence filed today seeking release from illegal detention.
The 18 have been in custody for 63 days since arrest on 27th August. On 5th November they will have clocked 70 days without trial.
Lead defence counsel, State Counsel Sakwiba Sikota, told the court the continued detention was unlawful and unjustified.
“Justice should never be hindered like this. It must be open to the public,” Sikota told journalists outside after a one-hour struggle to enter the heavily guarded court yard. “Our clients have a constitutional right to bail and a speedy trial.”
The three-judge panel comprising Justice Charles Chibwili, Justice Ireen Wishimanga and l Justice Derrick Mulenga made it clear they will rule or proceed with trial on 5th November without further adjournments.
This morning, security was tight to a spectacular point. Armored personnel, barbed wire, and armed officers ringed the High Court. Photographers and families were blocked.
“I couldn’t get anywhere close to taking a picture because Hon. Brian Mundubile and others are being guarded like gold and silver,”said a frustrated press photographer.
The detainees have now been bussed back to the supermax Mukobeko facility in Kabwe.
Mundubile Makebi back in LUSAKA tomorrow
But Mundubile and Makebi’s legal troubles are far from over.
They will appear again in Lusaka High Court tomorrow on separate sedition charges, and again on Tuesday next week in Solwezi, where a High Court judge will decide where the sedition matter commenced on 11th September will be heard.
What’s at stake:
Zambians on the streets are asking one question: is this justice or politics?
International concern is mounting. The UN Human Rights Office, EU, SADC Troika and Amnesty International have all in past months raised alarm over prolonged pre-trial detention of opposition figures, closed-court tendencies, and shrinking civic space in Zambia.
A closed court is not a good precedent. Open justice is the soul of democracy says Sikota.
Curious eyes are back at the High Court in Lusaka again tomorrow 150kms from Kabwe by road and Solwezi 440kms from Kabwe on Tuesday by road one way.