Court rejects police bonds review in protestors’ case

By JUSTINA MULENGA LUSAKA Magistrate Mwaka Mikalile yesterday rejected an application by the state to review the police bonds of Laura Miti and five others in the case in which they are charged with disobeying lawful orders contrary to the laws of Zambia.

When the matter came up for ruling on the application, magistrate Mikalile, said there was nothing in the state’s application to show that the 5 other accused present before court would flee the country.

She ruled that there was no malice in the state’s application to have the accused persons police bonds reviewed as the defence had put it to be malicious.

Magistrate Mikalie also said Mr Keith Mweemba had objected to the state’s application to have his clients’ bonds reviewed because of no sureties and decribed it as malicious.

She said magistrates have powers to enlarge the bonds and should any of the accused persons jump the police bond, there will be no hesitation to revisit her decision to their bonds enlarged.

Miti appeared with Lewis Mwape, PEP president Sean Tembo, activists Bornwell Mwewa and Mwika Mwambazi while Chama Fumba (Pilato) was not present before court.

In this matter, Miti and five others were arrested on September 29th 2017 after they allegedly defied police directives not to go ahead with the protests over the purchase of the fire trucks during the presentation of the national budget at Parliament.