A fortnight after the police confirmed they had him, the family of Emmanuel Jay Banda has gone to the High Court to find out where. News Diggers and the Zambian Observer, the latter carrying a Phoenix FM report, both describe an application for a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum filed in Lusaka by the former Petauke Central MP's mother, Grace Nampokolwe Banda. The writ, if granted, orders whoever holds a detainee to produce him before the court and justify the detention. The Attorney-General, Mulilo Kabesha, is named as respondent.
Her affidavit, as both outlets summarise it, says the family has had no access to Banda since his apprehension in Mozambique on 14 October. On 16 October, the day the police publicly confirmed he was in the country and awaiting formal arrest and charge, she says she visited several police stations and was told officers were not ready to allow her to see him. Her lawyers then wrote to the Inspector General of Police, Graphel Musamba, asking for access, and she says the request has not been granted. She describes her son as being held at an undisclosed location without having been formally charged, and says the family has been given no particulars of any offence, no warrant of arrest and no detention order. On that basis the application calls the detention unlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional and asks the court to compel his custodians to produce him and state the legal basis for holding him.
What the State has said
The government's position was set out before the application was filed. On 20 October State House issued a statement, reported by the Zambian Observer, answering a coalition of 24 civil society and human rights organisations that had questioned the legal basis of Banda's apprehension. Clayson Hamasaka, the State House chief communications specialist, said fleeing across a border does not grant immunity from prosecution, described the apprehension as standard mutual legal assistance, and said Banda was in custody, would appear before a competent court and would receive medical care, access to counsel and his constitutional protections. The statement said he faces High Court charges of attempted murder and aggravated robbery arising from a 2015 incident, that he vanished from lawful custody at Chipata General Hospital on 4 August 2024, and that the government had offered a K2 million reward for his arrest. Those are allegations; Banda has not been tried on them.
On Sunday the UPND's national youth chairman, Gilbert Liswaniso, added the governing party's answer to calls for Banda's release. In remarks reported by the Observer, he said Banda's earlier escape and the year he spent at large should weigh in any bail debate because they raised the risk he would abscond again, that a complaint of prolonged detention was odd when Banda had not yet been brought before a court, and that others had waited longer.
Mundubile and his friend have been in detention before Jay Jay, so let him wait.
— Gilbert Liswaniso, UPND national youth chairperson, as reported by the Zambian Observer on Sunday 1 November
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: A habeas corpus application in Mrs Banda's name has been filed in the Lusaka High Court, with the Attorney-General as respondent, as reported by News Diggers and the Zambian Observer. The police confirmed on 16 October that Banda was in the country. State House said on 20 October that he faces attempted murder and aggravated robbery charges and will appear before a court.
Alleged or unverified: Where Banda is being held, whether he has been formally charged since 16 October, and whether the Inspector General has replied to the family's lawyers are not confirmed by any official statement. No hearing date for the application has been reported. The circumstances of his apprehension in Mozambique rest on unnamed sources in the original reports.
Sources: News Diggers, “Jay Jay's mother challenges legality of son's detention” (1 Nov 2026); Zambian Observer, “Jay Jay Banda applies for habeas corpus before Lusaka High Court” (31 Oct 2026); Zambian Observer, “Emmanuel Jay Banda's Previous Escape Must Be Considered in Bail Debate – Liswaniso” (1 Nov 2026); Zambian Observer, “'Fugitive is not a victim!' State House fires back at human rights groups over Jay Jay Banda apprehension” (20 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Joint taskforce captures Jay Jay Banda” (16 Oct 2026).