MUNDUBILE, MAKEBI, 16 OTHERS BAIL HEARING PUSHED BACK TO OCTOBER 21
….High Court stalls constitutional bid as State scrambles for time
By DAVID KANDUZA
TENSION gripped the Lusaka High Court today October 19, 2026, as a panel of three judges adjourned the much-anticipated constitutional bail hearing for opposition leader Brian Mundubile and 17 co-accused to October 21, 2026.
The three-judge panel—comprising Ndola High Court Judge Derrick Mulenga, Davis Chibwili, and Ireen Wishimanga—pushed back the date after acting Chief State Advocate Chibesa Mulonda requested more time to file an affidavit in opposition.
The bench directed the State to submit its papers by the end of the day on Monday, October 19, 2026.
Outside the courtroom, heavy security and an anxious crowd shadowed the proceedings.
Defence lawyer Sakwiba Sikota confirmed to journalists that all 18 defendants—transported from Kabwe’s Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility—were present in the capital for the hearing.
Mr Mundubile and his co-accused face heavy capital and security-related charges, including treason, sedition and terrorism-related offenses
Through their legal teams from Ellis & Co Legal Practitioners and Milner and Paul Legal Practitioners, the group argued that their extended detention without trial directly breaches their fundamental rights under Articles 13(3) and 18(1) of the Constitution of Zambia.
They were asking the court for an immediate, unconditional release or, alternatively, bail set in reasonable conditions.
The State, however, was digging in its heels.
With the clock ticking toward Wednesday’s rescheduled hearing, all eyes turn back to the Lusaka High Court as the legal tug-of-war over the post-election detentions intensifies.