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After 29 days in detention, opposition leaders, Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu arrived at the Solwezi Magistrates’ Court on Friday to a waiting crowd of supporters, waving as they were driven into the court premises aboard the Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) bus.
The two appeared jovial as they acknowledged the crowd, with supporters gathered around the court premises chatting among themselves and offering messages of solidarity to the incarcerated opposition leaders.
Mundubile, the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) presidential candidate, and Zulu, his running mate, are facing charges of seditious practices.
Their appearance came two weeks after police formally charged them with seditious practices under Section 57 of the Penal Code, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
The sedition case was adjourned to October 5 for plea.
The two leaders are also facing separate treason charges, for which they have remained in custody at Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility in Kabwe.
Mundubile and Zulu were arrested on August 27 and formally charged with treason on August 29. As of September 25, they have spent 29 days in detention. They have yet to appear before court on the treason allegations, with the Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri saying investigations are still ongoing.
The sedition charges relate to statements made after the August 13 general election, according to their lawyer Sakwiba Sikota.
Sikota said Mundubile was charged over a video in which he claimed that his party had won the presidential and parliamentary elections based on its Parallel Voter Tabulation and called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia to announce the results.
Zulu is accused of referring to Mundubile as president in a separate announcement reiterating the claim of electoral victory, according to the defence.
Outside the Solwezi Magistrates’ Court, supporters continued to gather as the proceedings got underway, with some engaging in conversations while others waited for news from inside the courtroom.
The sedition proceedings are separate from the treason case, which remains pending.
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