The three-week argument over where Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu should answer sedition charges ended on Tuesday 13 October with a ruling that the court in Solwezi was never the right place to hear them. Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde held that the Subordinate Court lacked jurisdiction over the two-count case and referred it to the High Court, according to reports by Zambia Monitor and the Zambian Observer.
Citing the Subordinate Courts Act, the magistrate found that jurisdiction over the matter lay with the High Court. She noted that the State had not disputed the contents of the two accused men’s warn-and-caution statements, nor the defence’s assertion that the alleged offences were committed in Lusaka. She added that it was not within her authority to decide whether the case should be heard in Lusaka — a question the High Court will now have to settle for itself.
How the argument ran
Mr Mundubile, the NRPUP’s presidential candidate at the 13 August general election, and Mr Zulu, his running mate, first appeared in Solwezi on 25 September, when plea was deferred because their lawyers could not attend, the Zambian Observer reported. On 5 October defence lawyer Bonaventure Mutale challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the alleged offences had occurred in the capital, and asked that the accused be allowed to give oral evidence in support of the objection, citing access to witnesses and the cost of travel.
Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri opposed that application, arguing that it had no legal basis and that the points were already covered by documentary evidence, including the warn-and-caution statements. On 6 October the magistrate refused the request for oral evidence and reserved her ruling on jurisdiction for 13 October.
The charges, according to the Zambian Observer, arise from statements allegedly posted on Facebook after the election, including claims based on the NRPUP’s parallel vote tabulation that Mr Mundubile had won the presidency. Neither man has taken plea, and Tuesday’s ruling does not touch the merits: it decides only where the case will be heard, not whether the allegations are made out. Neither man has been convicted of anything.
What is not decided
No High Court hearing date has been confirmed. The two men also face separate treason allegations arising from the security investigation that followed the election; according to the Zambian Observer they were first arrested on 27 August and have remained in detention since. Tuesday’s ruling changes nothing in that matter, and it does not of itself determine whether the sedition case will be heard in Lusaka or elsewhere.
A bench warrant in Lusaka
The sedition docket moved elsewhere on Tuesday too. At the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate Webster Milumbe issued a bench warrant for Binwell Mpundu, the former Nkana MP, after he failed to appear for his own sedition case, Zambia Monitor reported. The warrant is returnable on 2 November, when his two sureties are expected to explain his whereabouts. No statement from Mr Mpundu or his lawyers on Tuesday’s non-appearance has been reported.
Key dates
- 25 September — Mundubile and Zulu first appear in Solwezi; plea deferred
- 5 October — defence challenges jurisdiction and asks to call oral evidence
- 6 October — oral evidence refused; ruling reserved
- 13 October — court declines jurisdiction; case referred to the High Court
- 2 November — Mpundu bench warrant returnable in Lusaka
- High Court date for Mundubile and Zulu — not yet set
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: That Magistrate Mukonde ruled on 13 October that the Solwezi court lacks jurisdiction and referred the two-count sedition case to the High Court, citing the Subordinate Courts Act (Zambia Monitor, Zambian Observer). That the DPP had opposed oral evidence and the magistrate refused it on 6 October. That a bench warrant for Binwell Mpundu is returnable on 2 November (Zambia Monitor).
Alleged or unverified: Whether the High Court will sit in Lusaka, and when. Whether the State will seek to have the case heard elsewhere. The truth of the sedition allegations, which has not been tested in any court; both men are presumed innocent. The reason for Mr Mpundu’s absence on Tuesday.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Solwezi court refers Mundubile, Zulu sedition case to High Court” (13 Oct 2026); Zambian Observer, “Solwezi Court Declines Jurisdiction in Mundubile, Zulu Sedition Case” (13 Oct 2026); Zambian Observer, “Solwezi Court Rules It Has No Jurisdiction in Mundubile, Zulu Case” (13 Oct 2026); Zambian Observer, “Sedition Case Kicked to Lusaka High Court” (13 Oct 2026); Zambia Monitor, “Court issues bench warrant for former Nkana MP, Binwell Mpundu” (13 Oct 2026).