SEDITIOUS practice charged Lumezi lawmaker Munir Zulu has called 40 out of the 50 witnesses to defend him in the criminal case.
https://www.facebook.com/100064560977290/posts/1063403195821703/
This is a case Mr Zulu is charged with
seditious practice after he was filmed in a clip claiming that President Hakainde Hichilema would dissolve Parliament and call for early elections on September 8, 2023.
The State alleged that the independent legislator advised Zambians to prepare for campaigns after the President dissolved Parliament, words alleged to be capable of inciting violence and being prejudicial to public order or in disturbance of the public peace.
Mr Zulu denied the allegations and several witnesses testified against him before Lusaka magistrate Trevor Kasanda, who found him with a case to answer.
The accused, in his defence, denied the allegations saying his sentiments were part of checks and balances.
He told the court he would also call 50 witness to aid his defence.
Four witness, including students from National Institute of Public Administration(NIPA) and Evelyn Hone College, testified in favour of Mr Zulu.
Keke Kapepa, an Evelyn Hone College student, said he never reacted to utterances in the video in question.
“I feel like that’s not the way they dissolve Parliament. So, I didn’t take it that hard,” the 22-year-old said.
And NIPA student Chisanga Nkole, narrated that she never found anything odd about the clip.
“We took it like just any other video,” Nkole, 22, said.
Another witness, Chisala Nachilima, of Lusaka’s Woodlands said Zulu’s alleged seditious words were normal political utterances.
“Honourable Munir Zulu is a politician, he used political language talking to his fellow politicians. Politicians make statements and I looked at it as a normal statement that a politician can make,” the 37-year-old business executive said.
And Weston Mwango, 32, a businessman of Avondale, said Zulu spoke on behalf of Zambians because the sentiments were linked to the cost of living.
(Mwebantu, Saturday, 15th February, 2025)
Agony is calling up 1000 witnesses and end up being jailed. It’s not the number of witnesses which count but their substantive testimony being persuasive to the judge.
This boy will go to jail very broke because all these so called witnesses he is busy rounding up for the courtroom are eating from him. By the time he will be sentenced he won’t have even a new K5 coin in his pocket. What a miserable way of conducting politics.
This person is wasting tax payers money. Instead of discussing pertinent issues, He went to joke and contravene the parliamentary etiquette