THE Lusaka Magistrates’ Court has ordered the arrest of Lusaka lawyer Martha Mushipe for absconding court sessions.
This is a matter where Mushipe is facing a charge of seditious practice.
When the matter came up for continuation of trial before magistrate Felix Kaoma, Mushipe and her lawyers, Keith Mweemba and Gilbert Phiri, were not present before court.
State prosecutor Noah Mwanza made an application that Mushipe be placed on bench warrant as there was no justification for her non-appearance before court and neither were her lawyers present.
In his response, magistrate Kaoma granted the application by the State to have Mushipe arrested.
“The accused having not been appearing before court for three consecutive occasions without a reason, the application by the State to have the accused placed on bench warrant is hereby granted, returnable on April 20,” ordered magistrate Kaoma.
Mushipe is between June 1, 2015 and April 11, 2016 alleged to have possessed a seditious document.
The document in question which was authored by General Thendai Muduli, former minister of Justice Ngosa Simbyakula and Didimus Mutasa contains a strategy of how the ruling Patriotic Front would dominate against the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) from 2015 to 2016 and beyond.
Among the strategies, was the use of ethnic divide and rule as a means of maintaining political control in Zambia.
The alleged seditious document was found in one of the offices at Mushipe’s law firm at Millennium Village during a search that was conducted at the premises in 2016.