Prison Gate Shut On Visitors To Mundubile, Makebi Zulu

Mukobeko Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Kabwe has barred visitors from seeing detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and 16 others. Prison officers now require written clearance from Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) headquarters in Lusaka before…

Mukobeko Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Kabwe has barred visitors from seeing detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and 16 others. Prison officers now require written clearance from Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) headquarters in Lusaka before anyone is let through the gate.

The new rule turned back a delegation led by former local government minister Dr Charles Banda. He arrived with former minister Moses Mawere and found opposition leader Cosmo Mumba and other prominent figures already waiting outside. The detained leaders face treason and sedition charges.

Dr Banda said he was stopped after handing over his identification.

“After presenting my ID, they asked if I had gotten written permission from HQ. I was shocked,” he said.

“I was referred to an assistant superintendent who confirmed the fresh instructions, saying anyone intending to visit the treason and sedition charged leaders must first get authorisation from Lusaka.”

The former Kapoche member of Parliament said the requirement was new. He had recently visited Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu without any letter of authorisation from Lusaka.

Most of the people turned away were women who had travelled long distances. Dr Banda said they raised their voices in anger at the gate and he stepped in to calm the situation.

“I’m very hurt. It was embarrassing in front of many people at the prison gate,” he said.

“The law allows senior citizens to visit inmates to check how they are coping, encourage and pray with them. I shouldn’t be treated like this in my own country.”

Dr Banda called the charges against the opposition leaders unfair and appealed for political tolerance.

Sakwiba Sikota, the lawyer representing the detainees, condemned the restriction as discriminatory and unconstitutional. He said no other inmates at the facility faced the condition.

“This is terribly unfair. All other inmates are visited without restrictions. The Constitution allows all inmates to be visited by relatives and friends without any form of discrimination,” Mr Sikota said.

He connected the order to concerns the European Union had already raised about the detentions. He said the new rule placed an unreasonable burden on families and supporters travelling from other provinces.

“These are concerns raised by the EU in its resolutions, but instead of addressing them they are coming up with more draconian issues,” he said.

“So, if someone is coming from Luapula, they must bypass Kabwe, come to Lusaka, book a hotel whilst waiting for permission and then travel back to Kabwe. It is absolutely ridiculous.”

Mr Sikota accused the State of stalling the court proceedings for lack of evidence. He said the Director of Public Prosecutions was on record saying investigations were still going on.

“This is wrong and is why the EU and international law bodies have raised the flag,” he said.He asked the State to reconsider the restriction and allow justice to prevail.

ZCS head of public relations Cornelius Mwanza said the service would comment after a meeting.

Mr Zulu’s detention is also being tested in a separate courtroom. There, the question is whether a jailed advocate can go on defending a client.

Chisanga Chanda was aide-de-camp to the late former President Edgar Lungu, and his defence has asked the court to let Mr Zulu keep representing him and cross-examining a prosecution witness. The defence argues that imprisonment does not end Mr Zulu’s professional obligations as counsel. Mr Zulu is being held at Mukobeko in connection with a separate matter.

The application was made in chambers after the trial could not go ahead. State witness Maxwell Timba, commissioner of police in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department, was unavailable, and State advocate Frank Sikazwe applied for an adjournment.

Defence lawyer Charles Changano asked Judge Ruth Chibbabbuka to order the State to let Mr Zulu keep appearing for Mr Chanda and cross-examine the witness now on the stand.

Mr Changano argued that Mr Zulu was still a lawyer and that detention did not automatically strip him of his professional responsibilities. He said Mr Zulu, who was Mr Mundubile’s running mate in the August election, remained innocent until proven guilty.

The defence relied on the Supreme Court decision in Shamwana and 7 Others v The People (1985). It argued the case showed that an accused person could take part in proceedings and cross-examine prosecution witnesses, so criminal proceedings did not necessarily stop an advocate from carrying out professional duties.

The State opposed the application. It argued the Shamwana case was different because Mr Shamwana was an accused person in the same proceedings he was taking part in, which is not Mr Zulu’s position in the Chanda trial.

Judge Chibbabbuka reserved her ruling on the application to October. The main case has been adjourned to 23 November for the trial to continue.