'My spine is failing me': Katele Kalumba, 74, comes to court on a walker — and leaves without a plea, waiting on the DPP's consent

He arrived the way age arrives: slowly, and in front of everyone. Dr Katele Kalumba, 74 — former finance minister, of Tambolola Palace in Chienge and traditional leader of Sub-Chief Matende of Walushiba — took measured steps into the Lusaka Magistrates' Court on Friday on a walker, drawing the attention of onlookers. When the court considered whether he could remain standing for the proceedings, he told it plainly: "My spine is failing me." He was allowed to sit.

What the court could not do was take his plea. Dr Kalumba was before it for plea on sedition charges arising from remarks the State says he made on his Facebook page between 1 and 13 August. The prosecution's account is that, in a video posted two days before the elections, he accused President Hakainde Hichilema of responsibility for what he described as abductions, deaths and strangulations, and warned that "hell will break loose" if the election was rigged — allegations contained in the prosecution's case and not established by any court. State prosecutor Samuel Zulu told the court the matter was scheduled for plea but the State was still awaiting the required consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and sought an adjournment. Defence lawyer Weluzani Zulu did not object. The court declined to take the plea without the consent, adjourned the matter to 15 October for mention, and indicated that a bail application could be considered after plea.

Dr Kalumba's own account of his arrest, given in court, is that heavily armed police officers asked him to report to Chienge Police Station on 23 September over alleged hate speech, and that he was later arrested in Kabwe and charged with seditious practices. Separately, police have charged him with harassment under Section 22 of the Cyber Crimes Act No. 4 of 2025, over electronic content police say was published with the intention of humiliating the President — a complaint made on 10 September, according to police. The two tracks now run in parallel, both untested.

The case has already drawn the familiar competing readings: police maintain the arrest was lawful; opposition figures have questioned the manner in which a 74-year-old was taken from Chienge; the ruling UPND condemned the remarks attributed to him while maintaining that free expression must be exercised responsibly. What is not in dispute is the procedure from here: the DPP's consent first, then a plea, then the question of bail for a man whose spine, by his own testimony, is failing him. The courts have seen elder statesmen in the dock before; they rarely arrive on walkers.

Sources: Zambia Monitor, "'My spine is failing me,' Kalumba says as he appears in court over sedition charges" (3 Oct 2026); Zambian Eye, "Katele Kalumba's court appearance ends without a plea — here's why" (3 Oct 2026); police statements on the Section 22 charge (Sep 2026).