SOLWEZI COURT REJECTS MUNDUBILE, MAKEBI APPLICATION FOR ORAL EVIDENCE.
The Solwezi Magistrate’s Court has rejected an application by National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, seeking to have their sedition matter heard through oral evidence.
Solwezi Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde ruled that the issues raised in the application for oral evidence were already adequately covered in the documents before the court.
Following the ruling, plea in the matter is expected to be taken today before the Solwezi Magistrate’s Court.
Mundubile and Zulu, who were brought from Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility, appeared before Magistrate Mukonde for plea and commencement of trial.
Earlier, the defence lawyers questioned why the accused were appearing before the Solwezi Court when the alleged offences were purportedly committed in Lusaka.
The defence subsequently applied for the presentation of oral evidence, arguing that both the warn-and-caution statements recorded by investigators and the charge sheet indicate Lusaka as the alleged place where the offences were committed.
Mundubile and Zulu are facing two counts of seditious practices, contrary to Section 57 of the Penal Code Act.
The State alleges that the two acted together and published material through livestreams on their respective Facebook pages, including claims that, based on their parallel voter tabulation, NRPUP had won the presidential election and secured a majority of parliamentary seats.
– Zambian Watch.