Lusaka, Zambia — Wednesday, 14 October 2026 · Wednesday: Solwezi sends the sedition case to the High Court, a scuffle at the Supreme Court, a seat on the rights council — and four goals in Ndola
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Illustration: Solwezi declines
Illustration: The Solwezi Magistrates’ Court has ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the sedition case against Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu; the matter now goes to the High Court.
Courts · Lead story Developing

‘No jurisdiction’: Solwezi sends the Mundubile and Zulu sedition case to the High Court — and the question of a Lusaka hearing is left for the judges

Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde ruled on Tuesday 13 October that the Solwezi Magistrates’ Court cannot hear the two-count sedition case against Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu, and referred it to the High Court. The State had not disputed the defence’s claim that the alleged offences took place in Lusaka. No High Court date has been set, the two men have still not taken plea, and the separate treason matter is untouched. In Lusaka, a bench warrant was issued for Binwell Mpundu in his own sedition case.

By Lusaka Brief Courts Desk • 14 October 2026 • 3 min read
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Politics

Illustration: Outside the Supreme Court
Politics · Political violence

A scuffle on the Supreme Court steps: the Chief Justice tightens security after Davies Mwila is pushed to the ground — and the UPND condemns the attack while disputing the blame

Former PF secretary-general Davies Mwila was pushed to the ground outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday 13 October after a hearing in the Lima election petition. Chief Justice Mumba Malila called it an attack on the administration of justice and said security had been heightened. The UPND condemned the assault and dared a PF-Pamodzi youth official who blamed its cadres to produce evidence. Police have named no suspects.

By Lusaka Brief Politics Desk•14 Oct
Illustration: A seat in the Council
Politics · Diplomacy

A seat without a contest: Zambia joins the UN Human Rights Council for 2027–2029 — as Human Rights Watch calls the uncontested vote ‘a mockery’

The UN General Assembly elected Zambia to the 47-member Human Rights Council on Tuesday 13 October, alongside Ghana, Nigeria and Burundi for Africa. Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe called it a milestone and thanked the states that backed the bid. Every regional group had put forward exactly as many candidates as seats, for the second year running, and Human Rights Watch said that made the word ‘election’ a mockery.

By Lusaka Brief Politics Desk•14 Oct
Illustration: The reconciliation question
Politics · Reconciliation

'A criminal matter, not a barrier to reconciliation': State House answers the camp that says there is no peace without release

State House has rejected claims that President Hichilema's call for national reconciliation cannot succeed while Brian Mundubile remains in detention. Political Advisor Levy Ngoma says reducing the incarceration to a political issue is misplaced because Mr Mundubile is accused of committing a crime. The opposition reads the same moment very differently.

By Lusaka Brief Politics Desk•13 Oct

Economy

Illustration: Debt, falling
Economy · Debt

The steepest fall in the region — and the heaviest interest bill: Moody’s on Zambia’s debt, as Musokotwane takes the case to Bangkok

Moody’s projects that Zambia and Ethiopia will record the largest reductions in government debt in sub-Saharan Africa, and lists Zambia among eight countries with a positive outlook — while also forecasting that about 35 percent of its revenue will go on interest in 2027, the heaviest burden in the region alongside Kenya. State House called the projection the result of ‘hard choices’. The Finance Minister is now at the IMF–World Bank meetings in Bangkok, where he spoke for African borrowers on Tuesday.

By Lusaka Brief Business Desk•14 Oct
Illustration: K40 million, realigned
Economy · Public finance

‘Not reduced’: State House says CDF stays at K40 million and only the disbursements have changed — as the Treasury releases K806 million for schools

After the Finance Minister said next year’s Constituency Development Fund would fall below budget, State House said the allocation ‘has not been reduced and remains at 40 million kwacha per constituency’, with disbursements realigned to need and absorption. NRPUP’s Stephen Kampyongo says any cut will leave MPs unable to meet expectations the Government itself raised. Separately, the Treasury released K806.1 million in fourth-quarter school grants, completing more than K2.3 billion for 2026.

By Lusaka Brief Business Desk•14 Oct
Illustration: The migrated ledger
Economy · Tax administration

A truce over the tax ledger: ZRA halts penalties, certificate suspensions and debt recovery while migrated records are reconciled

After moving years of historical tax transactions from retired systems onto TaxOnline, the Zambia Revenue Authority says it will not impose penalties, suspend Tax Clearance Certificates or pursue debt recovery over unreconciled historical data while taxpayers check their accounts. Business associations had raised concerns about suspended certificates and the reliability of the migrated records. A technical working group has been set up; no end date for the reconciliation period has been given.

By Lusaka Brief Business Desk•14 Oct

Health

Illustration: Back to the stations
Health · Ministry reforms

Back to their stations: the Ministry of Health sends 123 headquarters officers to their posts and orders a qualifications audit — as ZAMMSA starts hiring again

An internal assessment found 123 officers working at the Ministry of Health’s Lusaka headquarters under temporary arrangements, outside an approved establishment of 403 positions. Health Minister Roma Chilengi says they are being redirected to their substantive stations and that everyone left at headquarters will be assessed against professional benchmarks. ZAMMSA, whose entire workforce was dismissed, has advertised eight senior posts, and the Ministry says it is seeking cheaper financing for the sector.

By Lusaka Brief Health Desk•14 Oct

Sport

Illustration: Four in Ndola
Sport · Olympic qualifiers

Four goals and the road to Los Angeles reopens: the Copper Queens beat Uganda 4–1 in Ndola to go through 5–3 on aggregate — Ghana next, in February

Trailing 2–1 from Kampala, Zambia needed a performance at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on Tuesday 13 October and produced one: Natasha Nanyangwe and Eneless Phiri scored inside 20 minutes, and Barbra Banda added two after the break for a 4–1 win and a 5–3 aggregate. Sylvia Kabene’s equaliser was Uganda’s only reply. The third round of the 2028 Olympic qualifiers brings Ghana, 10–0 aggregate winners over Mauritius, in February 2027.

By Lusaka Brief Sports Desk•14 Oct
Illustration: Three in Rabat
Sport · Futsal

A winning start in Rabat: Zambia’s futsal side beat Libya 3–1 at the Africa Cup of Nations — the hosts, Morocco, are next

Royd Chishala scored in the second minute and Patrick Mwila added two as Zambia opened their fourth Futsal Africa Cup of Nations with a 3–1 win over Libya in Rabat on Monday 12 October. Mohammed Abu Raas pulled one back late on. Andrea Cristoforetti’s side, who went out in the group stage in 2024, now face hosts Morocco on Wednesday 14 October and Algeria on Friday 16 October.

By Lusaka Brief Sports Desk•14 Oct

Culture

Illustration: Church and state
Culture · Church and state

‘A matter concerning an individual’: the Government says clergy facing serious allegations should step aside — and the Green Party says the calls on Archbishop Banda are premature

Information Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana, in a statement that named no cleric, said it was advisable for clergy facing serious allegations to step aside while the facts are established, and that a case against an individual is not an attack on the Church. The statement follows the arrest of Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda, who is contesting a charge in court. Two MPs say he should not preside at Mass meanwhile; Green Party leader Peter Sinkamba says resignation calls are premature and politically motivated.

By Lusaka Brief Culture Desk•14 Oct
Illustration: A night for the craft
Culture · Media awards

A night for the craft: MISA's media awards honour the newsroom — five prizes for ZNBC, a haul for the Daily Mail

The MISA Zambia Platinum and Golden Media Awards gala filled the Mika Convention Center on Friday night. ZNBC took five honours — Mark Ziligone the Golden Media Award for Television, Lucky Phiri overall best male journalist in school health reporting — and the Daily Mail's reporters shared in more than twenty awards given out.

By Lusaka Brief Culture Desk•12 Oct

Opinion & Analysis

Analysis

What Solwezi decided — and what it left open

Tuesday’s ruling is narrower than either side’s supporters may read it. Magistrate Mukonde did not find the charges weak or the prosecution improper; she found that a Subordinate Court in Solwezi was not the forum, because the State never contested that the alleged acts happened in Lusaka. The defence won the point it argued, and the case now moves to the High Court. But she also declined to say where that court should sit, so the Lusaka question is still live. The State resisted the challenge; it may now argue the question of venue afresh. For the accused, the practical effect is weeks, not days: no High Court date exists, plea has still not been taken, and the treason detention runs on regardless. What to watch: the first High Court listing; whether the DPP seeks to keep the matter outside Lusaka; and how the detention question is handled alongside the sedition case.

LB
Lusaka Brief
Courts Desk
Analysis

Falling debt, rising interest: two Moody’s numbers that are both true

State House led with the flattering number, and it is real: Moody’s expects Zambia’s debt stock to fall faster than almost any in sub-Saharan Africa. The uncomfortable number sits in the same report. About 35 percent of government revenue will go on interest in 2027 — the heaviest burden in the region, shared with Kenya. Both follow from the same history. The restructuring reduced the stock of debt; the cost of what remains, and of the domestic borrowing that fills the gap, is what keeps the interest bill high. The Government’s case is that discipline under the new IMF programme brings the second number down behind the first. The sceptics’ case is that a Treasury already telling the FRA to expect no money next season has little room if interest stays that high. What to watch in Bangkok: whether the ‘prior actions’ for the US$1.47 billion facility are published, and what the commercial lenders on the delegation’s list are offered.

LB
Lusaka Brief
Business Desk
Analysis

A seat in Geneva, earned without a vote

Zambia’s election to the Human Rights Council was a diplomatic success, and the Government is entitled to say so. It is also the second year in which every regional group filled its seats without a contest, which is why Human Rights Watch used the word ‘mockery’. Both things can be held at once. The case for the seat, as Lusaka made it, is a record of reform — the abolition of the death penalty, disability and child protection — and a promise to bring developing-country concerns to a body critics say is remote. The case against is not aimed at Zambia alone: that uncontested slates let any state through, and that membership now sits beside treason and sedition prosecutions of opposition figures that the Council’s own mechanisms may one day examine. A seat brings scrutiny with it. What to watch: how Zambia votes on country resolutions in its first session, and whether its envoys welcome or resist attention to the cases at home.

LB
Lusaka Brief
Politics Desk

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