SURETY ORDERED TO PAY K2,000 BY COURT FOR FAILING TO PRESENT ACCUSED PERSON IN COURT
A MAGISTRATE yesterday ordered a surety to immediately pay K2, 000 or risk being jailed three weeks for failing to present an accused person before court in a matter Economic Freedom Fighters president Kasonde Mwenda and 21 others are charged with unlawful assembly.
Lusaka Magistrate Amy Masoja directed Chrispine Malata to forfeit K2, 000 which he signed up for as a surety for one of the accused persons, Bwembya Mubanga, who is missing.
This is in a case Mr Mwenda, Mr Mubanga, the missing accused persons, and others, are accused of with unlawful assembly.
When the case resumed yesterday, the prosecution informed magistrate Masoja that all the accused were present apart from Mr Mubanga, who is accused number four, was not in court but his surety was around.
The court then ordered asked Mr Malata to explain the whereabouts of Mr Mubanga.
Mr Malata was at pains to explain the accused whereabouts and that’s efforts to get hold of him proved futile as he was reported to have shifted.
The Magistrate then ruled that Mr Malata had failed to perform his duties as a surety and ordered him to forfeit K2, 000 to the State or serve three weeks in detention.
He was then asked to sit in the accused dock as the prosecution team applied that the bench warrant against Mubanga be revoked and the case discontinued against him.
The State further applied that the indictment be amended so that the Mubanga is removed from the case to enable it go into trial in respect of the available accused persons.
Mwebantu