By 
Former Defence Permanent Secretary, Stardy Mwale, and five others were rearrested on Thursday moments after being discharged by the court, following a dramatic turn of events that unfolded outside the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court.
The six, who were facing charges related to the controversial procurement of a presidential jet, were initially discharged after the State entered a nolle prosequi—a formal notice to discontinue proceedings—only to be immediately rearrested by plainclothes officers as they exited the courtroom.
Mwale was charged with three counts of willful failure to comply with procurement procedures and one count of corrupt acquisition of public property.
His co-accused—Isabel Chinji, Michael Mbewe, Evaristo Sakala, Frank Sinyangwe, and Dr. John Phiri—were each facing one count of willful failure to follow procurement laws.
During a scheduled status conference before Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate, Davies Chibwili, State prosecutor, Chawezi Nalwenga, informed the court that they had received instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Gilbert Phiri, to discontinue the matter via nolle prosequi.
“We may wish to present the same for the record,” Nalwenga said.
However, defence lawyers, Leone Lemba, Newman Siwila, and Milner Katolo objected to the abrupt presentation of the nolle, calling it a procedural ambush that violated principles of fair disclosure under the new court rules.
“This is not just a technicality,” Lemba argued. “The accused are parties to the proceedings and must not be blindsided. This could be a case of mistaken entry,” Lemba said.
Katolo also questioned the State’s failure to disclose all relevant documentation prior to withdrawing the case, insisting that the defence was entitled to proper notification.
In response, the State maintained that a nolle prosequi does not require prior disclosure and can be entered at any point before judgment, including verbally.
They emphasized that the DPP’s authority to discontinue criminal proceedings was constitutionally protected.
After reviewing submissions, Magistrate Chibwili ruled in favour of the State, stating that the DPP acted within legal parameters. He subsequently ordered the discharge of all six accused.
But their freedom was short-lived. As the group stepped out of the courtroom, they were immediately rearrested by officers and whisked away in full view of shocked onlookers.
It was not immediately clear what fresh charges, if any, had prompted the new arrests.
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