The wait ends tomorrow: Solwezi rules on jurisdiction for Mundubile and Zulu — and the DPP has answered the critics

One more night. Principal Resident Magistrate Mambwe Mukonde will on Tuesday 13 October rule on whether the Solwezi Magistrate's Court has jurisdiction to hear the sedition case against Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu — and, depending on the answer, plea could finally be taken. The ruling ends a procedural detour that began on 25 September, when the pair first appeared and the matter was adjourned because their lawyers were absent, and ran through last week's sessions, where the court declined to hear oral submissions, saying the issues had been adequately addressed in documents before it.

The defence argument is geography. Brian Mundubile, the losing 2026 presidential candidate, and his running mate Makebi Zulu face two counts of seditious practices contrary to Section 57, as read with Section 60, of the Penal Code — over Facebook livestreams in which Mundubile allegedly claimed victory on a parallel vote tabulation and called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia to resume counting, and in which Zulu allegedly said Mundubile would address the nation. They argue the alleged offences were committed in Lusaka, that trying them in North-Western Province breaches the Subordinate Courts Act and the Criminal Procedure Code, and that the venue blocks their witnesses and imposes financial hardship. On the location point, the State offered no resistance: Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri told the court the prosecution did not dispute the warn-and-caution statements, which indicate the alleged offence was committed in Lusaka. The defence has also asked that constitutional questions be referred to the High Court — an application the State strongly opposes.

That's when the court will make its ruling on whether or not the court has got jurisdiction and whether or not this matter be referred to be heard in Lusaka.
— Sakwiba Sikota, lead counsel for the defence, after the hearing, quoted by Lusaka Times

The DPP's answer to the delay critics

The wait itself has become an argument. The church and international bodies have called for a speedy trial for Mundubile, Zulu and 16 others — arrested in August and charged with treason in a separate matter headed for the High Court — all in detention since. Answering on Wednesday at a graduation ceremony for a financial investigations and asset recovery pilot course, DPP Gilbert Phiri attributed delays to investigations and called it a "cliché" to assume a suspect must appear in court days after arrest regardless of complexity. His precedent: the 1985 Shamwana treason case, which he said took eleven months to commence.

What Tuesday settles is venue, not guilt. If the magistrate finds for the defence, the sedition file moves towards Lusaka; if she finds for the State, plea could be taken in Solwezi the same day. Either way the treason case waits its own turn — and the State's position, stated in open court, that it does not dispute where the alleged offence happened will follow it to whichever courtroom hears it.

Sources: Times of Zambia, “Court rejects oral submissions in Mundubile case” (6 Oct 2026); Lusaka Times, “Mundubile, Makebi Want Sedition Trial Moved To Lusaka, Say Solwezi Venue Blocks Their Witnesses” (6 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “DPP explains delays in prosecuting cases, "investigations take time"” (8 Oct 2026).