The bail application that was due to resume on Wednesday 28 October did not start. Zambia Monitor reported that the hearing of the constitutional bail application by Brian Mundubile, the NRPUP presidential candidate in August's election, his running mate Makebi Zulu and 16 others failed to get under way for the third time, after the defence asked for more time to respond to the State's affidavit in opposition. The 18 are held at Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison and, as at the previous hearing, were not brought to court.
The panel of judges Derrick Mulenga, presiding, Davies Chibwili and Ireen Wishimanga ordered that all 18 applicants be brought before the court on Thursday at 10:00 hours, and warned that the officer in charge of the prison must personally appear before the court and explain any failure to comply with the directive. Zambia Monitor reports that the State acknowledged having contacted the prison authorities but could not explain why the applicants had not been produced.
What each side said
For the applicants, Milner Katolo told the court that the defence team had worked into the early hours of Wednesday preparing a reply to the State's affidavit, which was served on the lawyers on Tuesday evening. The defence had wanted the applicants in court to sign the documents, he said, but they had not been brought as the court ordered at the previous hearing. For the State, Chief State Advocate Chali Hambayi said the adjournment followed the defence's request for time: the parties had agreed to file by close of business on Tuesday, the State had met that timeline, and the delay came from the other side.
The application itself, as reported by the Times of Zambia on 20 October and News Diggers on 26 October, asks the court to release the 18 unconditionally or on bail on reasonable conditions if they cannot be tried within a reasonable time, and to declare that their continued detention violates their constitutional rights. The applicants argue that they were held for a long time without being brought before a competent court and that the State, by continuing to investigate after charging them, has admitted it is not ready to prosecute. The Times of Zambia reported that the accused face treason and terrorism-related offences; Zambia Monitor's earlier report lists treason, terrorism-related and sedition charges. None of the charges has been tried, and all 18 are presumed innocent.
The case has been adjourned at each sitting since it was first called. On 19 October the State asked for time to respond, the Times of Zambia reported; on 22 October, Zambia Monitor reported, the parties agreed to join the Director of Public Prosecutions, Gilbert Phiri, as a respondent and to drop two officials who had been sued personally, and the court directed that the applicants be produced at the next hearing. They were not.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: The hearing did not start on Wednesday 28 October; the court ordered the 18 applicants produced on Thursday at 10:00 and warned the officer in charge of the prison to appear and explain any failure (Zambia Monitor). The panel is Mulenga, Chibwili and Wishimanga (Zambia Monitor; Times of Zambia). The State filed an affidavit in opposition on Tuesday (Zambia Monitor).
Alleged or unverified: What the State's affidavit says: no outlet read for this edition had reported its contents. Why the prison did not produce the applicants. Whether the hearing goes ahead on Thursday. Lusaka Times reported the adjournment under the headline 'Mundubile, 17 others bail application adjourned to tomorrow', but its page could not be opened.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Judge reprimands prison authorities as Mundubile, Zulu bail hearing adjourned for third time” (28 Oct 2026); Zambia Monitor, “Mundubile, Zulu, 16 others' bail hearing adjourned to next week” (22 Oct 2026); Times of Zambia, “Mundubile, 17 others' bail hearing adjourned” (20 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Give us bail, State is not ready to prosecute – Mundubile” (26 Oct 2026).