Three weeks after his arrest and a week after his release on bail, the Member of Parliament for Lima has entered his plea. The Zambian Observer reported on Wednesday 4 November that Kelvin Kaunda pleaded not guilty in Lusaka, before Magistrate Mutinta Mwenya, to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to section 248 of the Penal Code, confirming that he understood the charge. The State said it would rely on five witnesses, and the court adjourned the matter to Tuesday 17 November, when the trial may begin. Mr Kaunda remains on bail.
The allegation
The particulars, as reported by the Observer, are that on Friday 7 August 2026, in Lusaka District, Mr Kaunda assaulted Anthony Mwamba and caused him actual bodily harm. Zambia Monitor reported the police account at the time of the arrest: a statement by the police spokesperson, Chipo Kaitisha, on Friday 16 October said Mr Mwamba, 26, of Soweto Compound, had reported on 7 August that he was assaulted at about 19:30 that evening on Zingalume Road during campaign roadshows, suffering a deep cut to the forehead and a swollen upper lip. The police said it was alleged that stones and fists were used.
Mr Kaunda was detained from Thursday 15 October, first at Lubwa Police Post and then at Mwembeshi Prison, News Diggers reported. The Lusaka High Court's Judge Kaumbi Ndulo granted him K30,000 cash bail with two working sureties in the same sum, and he was released on Tuesday 27 October after meeting the conditions. In an interview reported by News Diggers on Thursday 29 October, he described his detention as a political baptism, said he had not been discouraged, accused the criminal justice system of treating citizens differently according to their political affiliation and said he had forgiven those who, in his words, had falsely accused him. The same report described Mr Mwamba as a suspected UPND member.
The case so far
- 7 August 2026 — alleged assault on Zingalume Road during campaign roadshows; complaint lodged the same day
- 15–16 October — Kaunda detained; police announce the charge under section 248 of the Penal Code
- 27 October — released on K30,000 High Court bail with two sureties
- This week — pleads not guilty before Magistrate Mutinta Mwenya; State names five witnesses (reported 4 November)
- 17 November — case returns; trial may begin
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: Kaunda has pleaded not guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and is on bail pending a hearing on 17 November (Zambian Observer). The complaint, the complainant's reported injuries and the charge were set out in a police statement of 16 October (Zambia Monitor). Bail of K30,000 was granted by Judge Kaumbi Ndulo (News Diggers).
Alleged or unverified: Whether the assault took place as alleged: that is the question for trial, and Mr Kaunda denies it. The complainant's political affiliation, described by News Diggers as suspected rather than established.
The case is one in which the conduct of August's campaign is being tested in court after the fact. The defence has given no indication yet of the case it will run; the first of the State's five witnesses is expected on 17 November if the trial opens as scheduled.
Sources: Zambian Observer, “KELVIN KAUNDA PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO ASSAULT CHARGE” (4 Nov 2026); Zambia Monitor, “Police arrest Lima MP, Kelvin Kaunda for assault” (16 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Kaunda released on bail” (28 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “My detention was political baptism – Kaunda” (29 Oct 2026).