Release Mundubile, Makebi, Demands Kalaba

A widening rift between political rhetoric and judicial practice has drawn sharp criticism from Citizens First president Harry Kalaba, who says Zambia’s courts are being used selectively depending on whose electoral fortunes are at stake.

Kalaba has demanded the unconditional release of Tonse Alliance presidential candidate Brian Mundubile and lawyer Makebi Zulu, arguing that their continued detention reflects a broader climate of political intolerance rather than a genuine legal process.

His statement did not stop at the two men. Kalaba called for every political detainee currently held in the country to be released, describing this as a necessary precondition for dialogue, national reconciliation and healing after a bruising election season.

At the heart of his argument is a contradiction he believes exposes the government’s true priorities. Courts were closed to any challenge of the presidential election outcome, he noted, yet those same courts remain open and active for challenges brought against duly elected parliamentary candidates.

“It is deeply concerning that while the UPND leadership denied the people of Zambia an opportunity to validate the presidential electoral outcome by closing the courts of law, it has now turned to those same courts to challenge duly elected parliamentary candidates,” Kalaba said.

He described this as “a troubling pattern of expediency over principle,” warning that it risks eroding public confidence in the justice system altogether.

Detention practices came under equally pointed criticism. Kalaba said he had received reports of opposition supporters being held for as long as 14 days without appearing before a court, a practice he labelled an abuse of the justice system.

“Such actions amount to an abuse of the justice system and point to a dangerous trend of its weaponisation. This must come to an immediate end,” he said.

A further, more urgent concern surfaced in his remarks: alleged plans to abduct Mafinga South Member of Parliament Faith Munthali. Kalaba called on authorities to investigate the claims and guarantee her safety without delay.

He tied these domestic developments to international scrutiny, saying recent events lend weight to warnings already issued by United Nations Special Rapporteurs about a shrinking democratic space in Zambia.

Rather than direct his appeal solely at government, Kalaba turned to the country’s institutions of conscience. He urged civil society organisations, faith-based bodies and the clergy to speak out in defence of constitutional democracy, justice and national unity, cautioning that silence in the face of injustice only deepens the crisis.

Citizens First, he stressed, remains committed to non-violence, equity, justice and respect for the rule of law. His closing appeal was aimed squarely at the ruling party: an end to what he termed “hypocrisy in the application of the law,” and a single, uniform standard of justice for every citizen.