Zambia : TI-Z Says Timing Of Mundubile, Zulu Arrests Suggests Political Motivation

TI-Z Says Timing Of Mundubile, Zulu Arrests Suggests Political Motivation

Transparency International Zambia has warned that the timing of the treason arrests of opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu will make it difficult to dispel assertions that the prosecutions were politically motivated, urging law enforcement to handle the matter with strict professionalism as the case heads toward the High Court, the only court with jurisdiction to hear a treason charge.

TI-Z executive director Maurice Nyambe said the seriousness of the charges levelled against the two senior opposition figures makes it difficult to separate the process from the perception that it has been driven along political lines. “TI-Z notes the seriousness of the charges slapped on Messrs Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu. In our view, the timing of the arrests will make it difficult to dispel assertions that it has been done on political lines,” Mr Nyambe said.

“It is regrettable that this is happening in the immediate post-election period, during which Zambia appears to be divided along political lines,” he said, noting that the timing has the effect of weakening the opposition voice, which he described as a necessary component of our democracy that Zambia’s institutions must protect rather than erode.

Mundubile and Zulu had gone into hiding after a security raid on Mundubile’s Kabulonga residence in the days following the August 13 election, an operation in which former transport minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot dead. The pair took refuge inside a United Nations compound in Lusaka before surrendering to police on August 27, following sustained pressure from regional and international bodies for their humane treatment. They were formally charged with treason on August 29 and flown under armed guard to Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe two days later, alongside businessman Harry Valden Findlay, bringing the total number of accused to 18, all facing one count each under Section 43 of the Penal Code.

Lawyer Milner Katolo, who represents several of the accused, confirmed the charges, saying police should have gathered sufficient evidence before laying them, given that treason is non-bailable and can only be heard by the High Court.

TI-Z urged law enforcement agencies to deal with the matter professionally and to ensure due process is followed, giving the accused the opportunity to defend themselves without their constitutional rights being trampled upon. “We urge law enforcement agencies to deal with this matter in the most professional way possible and ensure that the constitutional rights of the two are not trampled upon in any way,” Mr Nyambe stated.

The organisation said it hoped the judicial process would take its course, allowing both due process and public confidence in the country’s institutions to be preserved during a sensitive post-election period. “It is our hope that the judicial process will take its course and avail the two an opportunity to defend themselves before the courts and that due process will be followed in that respect,” Mr Nyambe said.

The case has drawn wide attention partly because it followed closely on the heels of a hard-fought general election in which Mr Mundubile’s party secured 37.87 percent of the national vote against President Hichilema’s 60.49 percent, prompting continued questions among civil society groups about whether the timing of the charges reflected investigative necessity or political convenience. Government has maintained that investigations into the alleged plot are ongoing and that the accused will have their day in court once the process is complete, while TI-Z said it would continue monitoring developments as the case proceeds through Zambia’s judicial system in the weeks ahead.

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