DPP GOT IT WRONG: MUNDUBILE’S DETENTION IS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF SHAMWANA Trying to justify the long detention of Mr Brian Mundubile and his treason co-accused without being taken to court, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Gilbert Phiri, referred to the Edward Shamwana treason case of 1980. The detention of Mr Shamwana and others […]

DPP GOT IT WRONG: MUNDUBILE’S DETENTION IS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF SHAMWANA

Trying to justify the long detention of Mr Brian Mundubile and  his treason co-accused without being taken to court, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Gilbert Phiri, referred to the Edward Shamwana treason case of 1980.

The detention of  Mr Shamwana and others in 1980 under  Dr Kaunda and the current detention of Mr Mundubile and his co-accused in 2026 under Mr Hakainde Hichilema share similarities in nature both involve high-profile political figures accused of treason and lengthy pre-trial or pre-court holding periods but differ significantly in context, timeline duration, and the surrounding political environment.

Under Dr Kaunda, Zambia operated under a continuous, decades-long State of Emergency (originally declared at independence in 1964).

This allowed the state to invoke the Preservation of Public Security Regulations. Under these emergency laws, the President had explicit constitutional authority to issue indefinite administrative detention orders without a court mandate. While Mr Shamwana’s 11-to-13-month pre-trial holding was a human rights issue, it was fully compliant with the sweeping emergency laws of the one-party state.

In 2026, Zambia is operating under standard constitutional law with no active State of Emergency.
Under the current Bill of Rights, law enforcement must bring suspects before a court within a reasonable timeframe (typically 24 to 48 hours).
Because treason is an unbailable capital offence, suspects must remain in custody. However, holding them in correctional facilities for weeks without a formal court arraignment for the treason charge forces the state to rely on procedural gaps rather than emergency laws.

Because the Hichilema administration cannot rely on emergency laws to indefinitely detain Mr  Mundubile on the treason charge alone, the legal strategy has shifted:

The Sedition Pivot: To keep the legal process moving and manage public backlash over prolonged pre-trial custody, the state has brought the duo before lower courts (such as the Solwezi Magistrate’s Court) on separate charges of seditious practices. Although these are bailable offences, the state seems to be using them to maintain custody of Mr Mundubile. But what  about those not covered by the sedition charges?

Fred M’membe