The Lusaka Magistrates' Court has granted K20,000 cash bail to Celestine Mukandila, the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance secretary general, after he pleaded not guilty to four counts — two of forgery and two of uttering false documents — over the alleged surrender of shares in a company called ZRIMS Farm Limited. Mr Mukandila, 36, who is also a lawyer, appeared before Magistrate Anna Vomvas-Holland and was ordered to provide two working sureties bound at K15,000 each in their own recognisance and to report to a police station once a week pending trial.
The prosecution's case is documentary. It alleges that on dates between 14 July 2022 and 25 July 2024, in Lusaka, Mr Mukandila forged the signature of businessman Yaees Salim Sheth on a letter purporting to surrender Mr Sheth's shares in ZRIMS Farm Limited and on a PACRA Form 12 to the same effect, and then knowingly and fraudulently presented the documents as genuine. The charges are allegations; Mr Mukandila has denied them, and the trial is scheduled to begin later this month.
The bail argument carried the case's wider weather. The State described the accused as a flight risk, telling the court it was in the public domain that questions had been raised over his citizenship and identity — a reference to Government Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026, which in early September cancelled and invalidated his National Registration Card and passport, alleging they had been obtained through fraud, false declaration and misrepresentation. Mr Mukandila was arrested by the Department of Immigration on 20 August over his immigration status; the gazette notice directed institutions to stop recognising the cancelled documents, and anyone holding them to surrender them immediately.
The forgery matter is separate from the treason investigation in which 18 opposition figures — including the alliance's president and his running mate — remain in custody, and from the constitutional petition listed for 26 October. But for the Tonse-Pamodzi secretariat, the arithmetic of the week is stark: its leader in a maximum-security facility, its founder resigned on Friday, and now its secretary general reporting weekly to police while he prepares a defence. The court will test the signature. The alliance must survive the calendar.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: A plea of not guilty was entered to four counts; bail of K20,000 was granted with two sureties of K15,000 and weekly reporting; Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026, cancelling the NRC and passport, is a public document; the trial is scheduled to begin later this month.
Alleged: The forgery and uttering counts themselves, and the State's flight-risk characterisation, which the defence has yet to answer in full.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, "Mukandila to face trial October 13 after denying signature forgery in ZRIMS Farm shares case" (1 Oct 2026); Lusaka Times, "Mukandila Faces Forgery And False Document Charges" (1 Oct 2026); News Diggers and Diamond TV court reports (30 Sep 2026); Government Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026.
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