Court dismisses Nakacinda bail bid
By Esther Chisola
A LUSAKA High Court judge yesterday refused to grant Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Raphael Nakacinda bail pending appeal.
Justice Annie Ononuju ruled that Nakacinda had failed to demonstrate any exceptional circumstances that would justify the granting of bail.
She said the court did not foresee any delay in the hearing of his appeal.
Ononuju said this following Nakacinda’s argument that without bail, he would serve a substantial portion of his three-year jail term before his appeal was concluded.
Nakacinda applied for bail following the Lusaka High Court’s decision to uphold his 18-month conviction by a Lusaka magistrates court for defaming President Hakainde Hichilema.
On December 13, 2021, in Lusaka, with the intent to bring the name of Hichilema into hatred, ridicule, and contempt, Nakacinda caused a defamatory statement to be published by word of mouth.
This happened while he was addressing a crowd of PF members and the media at the High Court grounds.
Nakacinda was jailed for saying that Hichilema was summoning judges to his private residence, the Community House, intimidating and coercing them to frustrate PF legal battles.
He denied the charges and argued that his sentiments were in defence of democracy.
When the matter came up for ruling on bail pending appeal judgment, justice Ononuju said the case was not a proper case in which the court can exercise its discretion to grant him bail pending appeal.
“This court does not discern any apparent delays in this matter that will cause the convict to serve the whole or a substantial portion of the sentence before the appeal is heard,” she ruled.
Justice Ononuju further ruled that the bail application falls in its entirety.
“For the forgoing reason, and for the avoidance of doubt, this court finds that the applicant’s summons for admission to bail pending appeal falls in its entirety. I find no merit in this application and dismiss it,” ruled the court.
