DETAINEES DENIED FOOD
…Prison officers block rations for Mundubile, Makebi
By Mast Reporter
EMINENT lawyer Sakwiba Sikota has appealed to President Hakainde Hichilema to urgently intervene in the alleged mistreatment of opposition political detainees in Kabwe.
Sikota’s appeal comes after authorities at Mukobeko Maximum Security Correctional Facility allegedly blocked food meant for main opposition leader Brian Mundubile and 17 others facing treason charges.
In an interview with The Mast yesterday, Sikota said the food was brought to the ominous penitentiary by the detainees’ families through the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Wednesday.
He said the food was rudely confiscated at the gate without any explanation and never delivered to the treason-charged detainees, who include retired Anglican bishop Trevor Mwamba.
“Visitors to the 18 detainees were turned away, with all food parcels seized by prison warders,” Sikota said.
He described the seizure of the rations as inhumane, unconstitutional and politically motivated.
“These are persons presumed innocent until proven guilty. Denying them food from their families is cruel and degrading. This is an embarrassment to the State,” Sikota said.
He urged Hichilema to live up to his commitment to human rights and order the Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) to stop the practice.
“The President said he would restore the rule of law. This is a test of that commitment,” Sikota said.
He said the detainees were looking forward to October 26 to November 6 for the hearing of a case in which they were seeking the court’s intervention in their prolonged detention without appearing before any court of law.
The political detainees have petitioned the State for violations of their constitutional rights arising from their continued detention without being taken to court.
Mundubile and Zulu had been detained for 51 days without appearing before a court of law, while Lusaka businessman Valden Harry Findlay had been in detention over 68 days without appearing at any court.
The petition also cites the alleged torture of three of the detainees – Brazil Soko, Jackson Mutyoka and Bernard Chanda Chewe – who were allegedly moved to Mwembeshi Correctional Facility and back on September 7 without the consent of their lawyers.
The Zambia Correctional Service had not responded to a Mast query by press time yesterday.
The detention of Mundubile and Zulu and the capital offence they have been charged with have continued attracting global scrutiny.
