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A dramatic courtroom exchange unfolded at the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court as a State witness firmly denied claims that controversial TikTok personality Francis Kapwepwe, widely known as Why Me, was arrested in Zimbabwe or subjected to inhumane treatment.
Detective Inspector Ackson Banda, team leader of the National Cyber Taskforce, testified before Principal Resident Magistrate Idah Phiri, insisting that Kapwepwe was apprehended within Zambia’s borders—specifically in Chirundu—and dismissing defence assertions of a cross-border abduction as false.
Under intense cross-examination by defence lawyer Jonas Zimba, Banda maintained that he arrested Kapwepwe along a road in Chirundu, though he could not specify the exact point. He described the scene as a mix of gravel and tarred surfaces, with nearby buildings whose exact purposes he could not identify.
Banda told the court that the operation involved only one vehicle, a Toyota Hilux, and denied arresting the accused at Wolves Lodge or near a filling station in Zimbabwe.
He further rejected allegations that Kapwepwe had been blindfolded, folded into a box, or held for several hours in degrading conditions.
He acknowledged that Kapwepwe had crossed into Malawi at some point but denied being part of any team that illegally entered Malawi or Zimbabwe to arrest him.
Banda also dismissed claims that Malawian authorities had escorted Zambian officers back after warning them that their actions were illegal, saying he only briefly crossed the border to buy a soft drink.
The witness was shown excerpts from Kapwepwe’s passport bearing stamps indicating travel to Malawi and Mozambique.
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He confirmed seeing the stamps but said he could not state their significance, as some were faint.
When confronted with a video allegedly depicting the arrest location near a filling station in Zimbabwe, Banda distanced himself from it, saying the site did not match the place he described.
During re-examination, Banda clarified that the arrest took place on July 25, 2025, in Chirundu.
Court records indicate that Kapwepwe is facing three charges arising from TikTok broadcasts made between March and April 2025.
He is accused of insulting Vice President Mutale Nalumango, using obscene and derogatory language against the Tonga people, and issuing statements allegedly calling for the secession of Southern Province from Zambia.
The matter has been adjourned to January 22 and 23 for continued hearing.
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