NO COMPENSATION FOR MUCHELEKA, MUBANGA AND OTHER UPND CADRES, ATTORNEY GENERAL

NO COMPENSATION FOR MUCHELEKA, MUBANGA AND OTHER UPND CADRES, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By Correspondent
THE State has submitted that the arrest and detention of Permanent Secretary for Special Duties, Patrick Mucheleka and Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise, Elias Mubanga was not malicious.

Mucheleka, Mubanga and other UPND cadres from Kasama in Northern Province want to be compensation for the September, 2020 arrest and detention they suffered under the PF administration.

However, Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha says the arrest and detention of Mucheleka, Mubanga and other UPND cadres under the PF government was not malicious.

Kabesha says there were reasonable cause why they were arrested and detained.

He has submitted that the arrest of Mucheleka, Permanent Secretary for Special Duties, and others who include Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Elias Mubanga was equally not malicious as there was reasonable cause why they were arrested.

The other plaintiffs are UPND national youth secretary Samuel Ngwira, Chinyimba Bwalya and Kelvin Bwalya. The five sued the State seeking, among other reliefs, damages for false imprisonment.

In their court documents, Mucheleka and others submitted that they were apprehended and arrested without reasonable cause by Zambia Police Service for 31 days.

They submitted that they were arrested from September 13, 2020 to October 3, 2020 at Kasama Police Station on aggravated robbery and malicious damage to property charges.

Mucheleka and others submitted that during trial, the State set them free through a nolle prosequi.

The five then sought monetary compensation for mental distress, mental anguish, emotional distress, inconvenience and embarrassment among other reliefs.

But in defence, the State has submitted that it will aver that there was reasonable cause for the plaintiffs’ arrest and detention.

(Mucheleka and Mubanga in handcuffs in 2020)