The Lusaka High Court sitting in Solwezi will tomorrow decide whether opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu should stand trial for sedition in Solwezi or have their case moved to Lusaka. Judge Edward Musona has set the ruling for Thursday, 5 November, at 14:00 hours.…

The Lusaka High Court sitting in Solwezi will tomorrow decide whether opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu should stand trial for sedition in Solwezi or have their case moved to Lusaka. Judge Edward Musona has set the ruling for Thursday, 5 November, at 14:00 hours. The date was fixed on Tuesday when the matter came up in chambers for a possible ruling. Instead, the judge directed both sides to file written arguments first. The State was given until 12:00 hours on Tuesday, while the defence has until 14:00 hours today.

Mr Mundubile, who was the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) presidential candidate in the 13 August elections, and his running mate Mr Zulu each face charges of seditious practices under Section 57 of the Penal Code. The State alleges that the two published material through livestreams on their respective Facebook pages. In those broadcasts, it is alleged, they claimed that their parallel voter tabulation showed they had won the presidential election. Earlier court proceedings heard that Mr Zulu is accused of posting that Mr Mundubile would address the nation and urging the public to remain on standby. Neither has taken plea since the matter opened in Solwezi in September.

The jurisdiction fight began on 5 October, when the defence objected to the case being heard in Solwezi. The lawyers argued that the indictment itself places the alleged offences in Lusaka, where the two were also apprehended. They relied on Section 75 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires criminal cases to be tried in the district where the offence was committed. They also told the court that no evidence links the alleged offences to Solwezi and that holding the trial there would make it harder to reach their witnesses. Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri, who prosecuted the matter personally, countered that where it is uncertain where an offence was committed, proceedings may be brought in any jurisdiction where the matter properly falls.

On 13 October, Solwezi Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde declined to rule on the question. She found that her court lacked the authority to either try the case or transfer it to another court of equal status. She referred the matter to the High Court for determination. That referral is what brought Judge Musona to Solwezi this week.

Speaking to journalists after Tuesday’s proceedings, National Prosecution Authority Chief State Advocate Chali Hambayi said both parties had been given the chance to argue for and against the application. She said the State would file within the time allowed.

“As the State we have indicated that we shall file the motions by 12:00 hours today and the defence has also been accorded chance to file their submissions on Wednesday 14:00 hours, the learned High Court will make its ruling on Thursday, 14:00 hours,” Ms Hambayi said.

Defence lawyer Chifumu Banda, State Counsel, welcomed the timetable. He said the defence had agreed with the court’s directive and that a fixed date would bring an end to weeks of uncertainty over where the substantive case will proceed.

“This is good because we now know when the pending issue of jurisdiction will finally be determined by the court,” Mr Banda said.

The Solwezi case has already disrupted other proceedings in Lusaka. On Tuesday, the trial of Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda, who is charged with possessing a Toyota Hilux suspected to have been unlawfully obtained, failed to start before Resident Magistrate Mwandu Nakazwe. Deputy Chief State Advocate Mercy Lungu told the court that the prosecution team was in Solwezi on the Mundubile matter. The defence, led by State Counsel John Sangwa, did not oppose an adjournment, and the case was pushed to Friday.

“The notice of hearing in the Solwezi matter was served on the State after dates for this case had already been set,” Ms Lungu said.

The sedition charges are separate from the treason proceedings that followed the post-election security operations against the opposition. The European Union Election Observation Mission, in its final report published on Tuesday, noted that the two were arrested and charged with treason and later sedition. It said the prolonged lack of official information about the arrests and the charges had heightened public anxiety. Tomorrow’s ruling will not decide guilt or innocence. It will settle only where the trial takes place, and therefore how soon plea can finally be taken.