Mundubile, Zulu Remain in Mukobeko as Treason Case Proceeds

Mundubile, Zulu Remain in Mukobeko as Treason Case Proceeds

National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity presidential candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu remain detained at Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison in Kabwe, facing treason charges that stem from an August 14 security operation at Mundubile’s residence in Lusaka’s Kabulonga suburb.

The operation, during which former cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot dead, has become one of the most closely watched legal proceedings to emerge from Zambia’s disputed August general election. Government has acknowledged responsibility for Kafwaya’s death.

Human Rights Commission Chairperson Dr Pamela Towela Sambo said 18 people, including Mundubile and Zulu, are facing treason charges connected to the Kabulonga raid, alongside Bishop Trevor Mwamba, senior lawyer George Chisanga and businessman Patrick Mwansa.

Security forces reported discovering military-grade equipment, including firearms, at the premises during the operation, along with what officials described as other sophisticated weaponry. The discovery has featured prominently in Government’s public defence of the arrests.

Mundubile and Zulu initially escaped to a United Nations facility in Lusaka, where they remained for several days before being handed over to Government authorities. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the handover was facilitated personally by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, on the basis of assurances that the two leaders’ constitutional rights would be respected throughout the ensuing legal process.

Upon being handed over, the two men were immediately detained and charged with treason. Other individuals connected to the case were taken into lawful custody and held at the same Mukobeko facility.

Prior to surrendering, Mundubile said he and his colleagues were being targeted for opposing poverty, injustice and what he described as shrinking space for free expression in the country.

The case has drawn international attention. United Nations Special Rapporteur Gina Romero described the eleven opposition leaders facing treason charges as “political detainees” and called for their immediate release, prompting a sharp rebuttal from Government, which said the term prejudged matters still before the courts.

Government has separately disputed Romero’s characterisation of treason as a capital offence, noting that Zambia abolished the death penalty under the Penal Code in December 2022 and subsequently removed it from military law as well.

Human rights groups, including the Human Rights Commission, have continued to seek clarification on the welfare of Mwamba, Mwansa, Chisanga and other co-accused persons connected to the case, while continuing to press for their access to legal representation and family visits in accordance with constitutional protections.

Six international observer missions, including the European Union, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the Commonwealth, have expressed concern over aspects of the broader post-election environment. EU observers cited intimidation during the electoral process, while SADC noted delays in vote counting and the deployment of security forces as factors that had eroded public confidence.

Zambia has been recognised since 1991 for peaceful transfers of power, a record reaffirmed as recently as 2021. That continuity was tested on August 13, when vote counting was suspended for six hours and the army was deployed in Lusaka, with reports of direct interference in the counting process.

The Mundubile Ecl Movement, chaired by Davies Mwila, has said Mundubile remains the substantive Tonse Alliance leader despite his detention, and has called for the immediate release of Mundubile, Zulu and 18 others unless credible evidence is produced to sustain the charges against them.

The case continues to work its way through the legal process, with the accused entitled under Zambian law to the presumption of innocence, access to legal representation and a fair hearing before an independent court.