UPND Gvt Takes Mukandila for Age Test- Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Cruel; Now Immigration Becomes Desperate Subject Mukandila to Age Test
40 days in Detention
UPND Gvt Takes Mukandila for Age Test
The Economic Freedom Fighters say Celestine Mukandila was taken to University Teaching Hospital for a procedure normally used in defilement cases, and that a court found the government broke the law in his detention.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president Kasonde Mwendasaid yesterday that Zambian authorities had taken Mukandila, the secretary general of the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance, to the University Teaching Hospital for a medical procedure to determine his age, calling it an assault on his constitutional rights and a politically motivated attempt to humiliate an opposition figure.
The party accused the director of public prosecutions, Gilbert Phiri, and the governing United Party for National Development, or UPND, of dragging Mr. Mukandila to UTH for what it described as an “age operation.” It said the procedure is predominantly used to ascertain the age of defilement victims and should not be abused to target political opponents.
“This is an affront on his constitutional rights,” the EFF said. “This medical procedure is predominantly used to ascertain age of defilement victims and hence should not be abused to target political opponents for humiliation.”
It was not immediately clear when the procedure took place, whether Mr. Mukandila consented, or what it concluded. Officials at the DPP’s office, UTH and the presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The party said the procedure had left Mr. Mukandila’s family “traumatized and abused by the State.”
The accusation came as the EFF said the High Court on Sept. 25, 2026, found the UPND government guilty of breaking the law in a case involving Mr. Mukandila’s prolonged detention.
According to the party, the state illegally transferred Mr. Mukandila from one government body to another as it held him in what amounted to perpetual detention. Bail was granted again after an earlier grant was ignored by the state, the EFF said, but Mr. Mukandila remained detained.
The EFF said the case reflected a broader disregard for the courts and the rule of law under President Hakainde Hichilema, who took office in 2021 promising to restore democratic institutions.
“We are saddened by the continued disregard for the Courts and the Rule of Law by Mr. Hakainde Hichilema’s government,” said Kasonde Mwenda, the EFF president and a member of the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance Council of Presidents. “We demand for the rule of law to be respected because Zambia is a constitutional Democracy where laws govern not individuals.”
He added: “Zambia is unfortunately descending into an autocracy and this will cost us investments and our economy will continue falling for lack of Investor Confidence in our legal system.”