The most anticipated plea in Zambian politics did not happen. Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu, the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity's presidential candidate and running mate, were brought before the Solwezi Magistrates' Court on Monday for the formal plea to which their seditious-practices case was adjourned on 25 September — and left without pleading, after the defence raised a preliminary objection that now holds the entire case: jurisdiction.
The objection, led by defence counsel Bonaventure Mutale, is about geography. The charges arise from social-media posts made in the days after the 13 August election; the defence argues that any alleged offence was committed in Lusaka, not Solwezi, and that a Solwezi court therefore has no business trying it. The State, led by Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri, opposed a long adjournment and argued the objection could be heard and answered orally, there and then, so that the matter could move. Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde declined the oral route, directed the defence to file written submissions by Thursday, 8 October, and reserved the court's ruling on jurisdiction to Tuesday, 13 October.
Outside, the politics pressed against the procedure. Police kept a group of opposition figures — including leaders of the BM8/ECL Movement, the formation built around former president Edgar Lungu's political family — from the court precincts, according to footage and reports from the scene, and supporters who had hoped to fill the gallery followed proceedings from a distance. The two accused, in custody since 27 August, were returned to custody to await the ruling.
What the court will decide next Tuesday is narrower than the case and larger than the day: not whether the posts were seditious, but whether Solwezi is the place to ask. If the magistrate finds the venue wrong, the State must either move the case or defend the choice on appeal; if he finds it right, plea and trial finally begin, forty-six days after the arrests. The graver treason charge — non-bailable, undated, and on the DPP's own account still under investigation — waits in its own silence. The detainees' constitutional petition over their detention reaches the High Court on 26 October. Every road in this affair now runs through a ruling about a map.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: No plea was taken on Monday; the defence raised a jurisdiction objection; the DPP appeared for the State and opposed a long adjournment; Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde ordered written submissions by 8 October and reserved the ruling to 13 October; the accused were returned to custody.
Alleged or untested: That either man's post amounted to sedition; that venue in Solwezi is improper — the question the court must now answer; the circumstances of police crowd control outside the court, reported from footage at the scene.
Sources: ZNBC, Hector Simfukwe's reporting from the Solwezi Magistrates' Court (5 Oct 2026); Smart Eagles footage from the court precincts (5 Oct 2026); Lusaka Times on the Solwezi transfer and plea listing (4 Oct 2026); Zambia Monitor on the 25 September adjournment (25 Sep 2026); Lusaka Brief archive.
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