Sakwiba Sikota, lead counsel to Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu, has accused Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri of incompetence for justifying the delay in bringing the treason case to court when, he says, the matter has been under investigation for three years.
Mr Phiri had explained that complicated cases such as treason take time because of investigations, citing the 1985 Shamwana case, which he said took 11 months to commence. Mr Sikota, commenting in an interview on Thursday, rejected the comparison, News Diggers reports — pointing to the length of time the matter has already been under investigation.
Mr Mundubile, the NRPUP presidential candidate, his running mate Mr Zulu and 16 others were arrested and charged with treason in August and have been in detention since. The church and international bodies are among those who have called for a speedy trial. The treason charge itself has yet to reach a plea.
A second front: the constitutional petition
Separately, the High Court has scheduled the detainees' constitutional petition for hearing before a three-judge panel from 26 October to 6 November, according to the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance, Zambian Eye reports. The petition, filed on 11 September, names Attorney General Harrington Akusanga and Zambia Correctional Service Commissioner General Fredrick Chilukutu as respondents, and invokes Articles 1, 13, 15 and 18 of the Constitution — challenging the arrests, the detention, transfers between facilities, and alleged restrictions on access to lawyers and family.
The alliance's acting secretary general, Muhabi Lungu, says the two leaders have spent 42 days in detention without appearing before a court on the treason allegations — a claim he frames as illegal detention, but which remains the alliance's position rather than any court's finding. Allegations in the petition of physical mistreatment and undisclosed holding locations likewise remain untested.
We just want to show that the State is ready to prosecute this case and deal with it in the most expeditious manner.
— The prosecution, before the Solwezi Magistrate's Court on 5–6 October, quoted by Lusaka Times
The third calendar is Solwezi, where the pair face two counts of seditious practices under Section 57, read with Section 60, of the Penal Code. Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde has reserved to Tuesday 13 October her ruling on whether that court has jurisdiction — the defence argues the alleged offences were committed in Lusaka, and the State did not dispute that the warn-and-caution statements point to Lusaka. No plea has been taken. The defence has objected that the Solwezi venue "is merely intended to deprive us of easily accessing our witnesses"; the State says seven witnesses were ready at both sittings.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: Sikota publicly criticised the DPP's justification of the delay (News Diggers); the High Court petition is scheduled for 26 October–6 November per the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance (Zambian Eye); the Solwezi jurisdiction ruling is reserved to Tuesday 13 October (Lusaka Times, Times of Zambia). The 18 accused have been detained since August on treason charges.
Alleged or unverified: The petition's allegations — mistreatment, undisclosed locations, restricted access to lawyers — have not been tested in court. The treason charges themselves have not been particularised in open court, and the accused have not taken plea.
Sources: News Diggers, “Sikota accuses DPP of incompetence over delayed Mundubile treason trial” (9 Oct 2026); Zambian Eye, “Mundubile, Makebi constitutional rights petition set for October hearing” (2 Oct 2026); Lusaka Times, “Mundubile, Makebi Want Sedition Trial Moved To Lusaka, Say Solwezi Venue Blocks Their Witnesses” (6 Oct 2026); Times of Zambia, “Court rejects oral submissions in Mundubile case” (6 Oct 2026).