Sedition Charge Against Mundubile And Makebi Zulu Rests On Claim Of Election Victory

Opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu were charged with seditious practices at Kabwe Central Police Station on Friday over statements they made about the outcome of the general election, their lawyer said. The two contested the presidency and vice-presidency on the…

Opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu were charged with seditious practices at Kabwe Central Police Station on Friday over statements they made about the outcome of the general election, their lawyer said. The two contested the presidency and vice-presidency on the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Progress ticket and lost to President Hakainde Hichilema. The focus of their charges centers on the claims made by Mundubile regarding the election results.

They were charged at 11:45 hours amid tight State security, having been brought from Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility, where they are held awaiting the commencement of a treason trial. Defence counsel Sakwiba Sikota said the charges concern incidents alleged to have occurred on 14 August, the day after the national vote, and are brought under Section 57 of the Penal Code. The offence carries a maximum sentence of seven years on conviction.

Mr Sikota said Mr Mundubile was charged over a video in which he stated that his party had won the presidential and parliamentary elections on the strength of a Parallel Voter Tabulation the party had conducted, and in which he urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia to announce the results. Mr Zulu was charged over an announcement in which he referred to Mr Mundubile as president, reiterating the claims of electoral success made by Mundubile.

On that account the alleged conduct consists of two utterances about an election result. Neither charge as described by the defence involves any act beyond the making of a statement. Police assistant public relations officer Timothy Malumo said the pair remained in lawful custody until the next legal procedures were exhausted.

“The Zambia Police Service reiterates its commitment to maintaining law and order, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring that all matters are handled fairly, professionally, and in accordance with the laws of Zambia,” Mr Malumo said.

Neither the police nor the prosecution has given its own description of the conduct alleged, and no charge sheet has been made public. The account of what the two men are said to have done comes entirely from their counsel. Sedition is the second charge brought against them, and no trial date has been set in the treason matter. The sedition case is yet to come before a court.

Their party is at the same time the subject of a dispute over whether it has approached the Government for talks. State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka said no formal request for dialogue had been received from the NRPUP or any other opposition political party, and that calls for dialogue attributed to the party were circulating only on social media.

“There has been no request from any political party or institution formally presented to State House or any other Government institution,” Mr Hamasaka said.

The party’s leadership has been in custody in Kabwe throughout the period in which those calls were reported. No NRPUP officer has commented on the sedition charge or on the dialogue question, and the party has not said whether it accepts the description of the video and the announcement given by its counsel. Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu remain at Mukobeko.