Businessman challenges indefinite detention
By Charles Musonda
LUSAKA businessman Christopher Banda has applied to the Lusaka High Court for a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum over his continued detention without a charge.
Banda, of Sunningdale, has submitted before the High Court that the State has not presented him before any competent court since his arrest on September 14.
In his affidavit in support of the application, Banda says on September 13, 2026, his employee Francis Mubanga notified him by phone that officers from Zambia Police Service Headquarters raided and searched his office looking for firearms and electronic equipment.
“I was informed that the police conducted a search in my office but found no firearms or anything unlawful therein save for the ordinary office furniture and equipment. Upon learning of the search, I contacted the police to establish the reason for the same and voluntarily offered to make myself available to assist with any investigations,” he states.
He says on Monday, September 14, he presented himself to police where he was interrogated in connection with the opposition Tonse Alliance.
“On Monday, September 14, 2026, I accordingly presented myself at the Zambia Police headquarters in Lusaka, where I was interviewed by the officer-in-charge for criminal investigations concerning, among other matters, my association with the Tonse Alliance approximately three weeks before the August 13, 2026 elections. During the said interview, I was informed that the police were investigating what they described as a possible offence of treason,” Banda says.
He states that despite his voluntary attendance and willingness to cooperate with the police, he was detained and later taken to Kabwata Police Station where he was detained for the offence of ‘conspiracy to commit an offence’.
Since his detention, the police have continued to question him and his wife and moved him between their headquarters and Kabwata Police Station in connection with the investigations.
Banda submits that in the course of his detention, the police have seized and held his motor vehicle and various items, including office equipment, even though the search at his office yielded no firearms or other unlawful articles.
