Kambwili convicted of unlawful assembly, handed one-year suspended sentence
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Local NewsFormer Information Minister Chishimba Kambwili has been convicted of unlawful assembly and sentenced to one year in prison, suspended, by the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court. The judgment was delivered today and means the veteran politician leaves court a free man. He does, however,…
Former Information Minister Chishimba Kambwili has been convicted of unlawful assembly and sentenced to one year in prison, suspended, by the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court.
The judgment was delivered today and means the veteran politician leaves court a free man. He does, however, now carry a criminal conviction on the charge. The jail term will only take effect if he commits another offence during the suspension period set by the court. If that happens, he could be ordered to serve the full year on top of any punishment for the new offence.
The charge comes from events of January 26, 2023, when a group of youths protesting the high cost of living marched to Mr Kambwili’s residence in the Woodlands area of Lusaka. The State alleged that Mr Kambwili, acting together with others unknown, unlawfully assembled with intent to commit an offence or breach the peace. He was charged under Section 74 of the Penal Code, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia. Section 75 classifies taking part in an unlawful assembly as a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year in prison. Today’s sentence therefore matches the full term the law allows, although the court chose not to enforce it immediately.
The court found that the offence warranted a year behind bars but held that punishment in reserve. Mr Kambwili remains at liberty, but any fresh offence during the suspension period can activate the original jail term. Under Zambian law, an unlawful assembly arises when three or more people gather with intent to commit an offence, or behave in a way that makes people nearby reasonably fear a breach of the peace. The former minister must now conduct himself with care, both personally and politically.
The conviction stays on his record whether or not the jail term is ever enforced.
Mr Kambwili was first charged jointly with Lusaka businessman Charles Kakula, who led the youths to the residence. Mr Kakula faced an additional count of expressing or showing hatred, ridicule or contempt for persons because of race.
The State discharged Mr Kakula in May 2024, leaving Mr Kambwili as the sole accused. The court found him with a case to answer in September 2025 and placed him on his defence. He opened his defence in March 2026, telling the court he committed no crime by meeting people at his home.
Some of the trial evidence appeared to favour the accused. Prosecution witness and social media commentator Simon Mwewa told the court that Mr Kambwili disapproved of the youths’ conduct and reprimanded Mr Kakula, whom he named as the group’s leader. Mr Mwewa said he had reported Mr Kakula, not Mr Kambwili, to Lusaka Central Police. Under cross-examination, he admitted he never gave the video footage he relied on to the police or the court.
“I don’t think Mr Kambwili should be on trial, but Kakula,” Mr Mwewa told the court.
The magistrate weighed the full body of evidence and found the charge proven. Today’s conviction adds to the legal troubles of the former Roan Member of Parliament. In 2025 he served a five-month prison term for remarks on a 2021 radio programme that the court found promoted tribal hatred against the Tonga-speaking community. The Kasama High Court upheld that conviction on July 14, 2025, and he began serving his sentence the same day. In October 2025, shortly before his scheduled release, the Immigration Department arrested him on a separate matter.
Mr Kambwili appeared in court several times during this trial in visibly poor health, at times in a wheelchair.
The case ran through the 2026 general election season, and he remained active in opposition politics throughout. At a July 2026 sitting, he urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia to apply campaign rules equally to all presidential candidates. On October 9, the court set today as the date for judgment.
The suspended sentence leaves him free to continue his political work, and he retains the right to appeal to the High Court.
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