By Brian Matambo – Lusaka, Zambia

The Lusaka High Court has denied bail pending appeal to Raphael Nakachinda, Secretary General of the Patriotic Front and Tonse Alliance, despite clear evidence that his conviction was based on a law repealed more than two years ago.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Anne Malata-Ononuju, means Nakachinda will remain in detention as he continues to challenge his 18-month sentence for defamation of the President, a charge that no longer exists in Zambia’s Penal Code.

Speaking moments after the ruling, PF Acting President Given Lubinda described the decision as a sad day for justice, saying the denial of bail shows how the courts have become selective in applying the law.

“It is wrong in fact and wrong at law,” Lubinda told supporters outside the court. “The law under which he was convicted does not exist. It was repealed. Yet he remains behind bars while others facing far more serious charges are walking free.”

The decision has reignited debate over inequality before the law under the UPND administration. Observers point to the case of Maria Francis Zeleni Zaloumis, daughter of ECZ Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis, who was granted bail in a case involving the death of a man at her farm in Kabwe.

Maria Zaloumis and four co-accused were initially charged with murder after the death of Enock Simfukwe Kasengele on 17 August 2025 at Onani Farm. The Director of Public Prosecutions later consented to reduce the charge to manslaughter, clearing the way for the Kabwe Magistrate’s Court to grant them bail of K20,000 each with sureties and fortnightly reporting conditions.

The contrast is stark. Bail in a homicide case for a well-connected accused, but continued detention in a defamation case under a repealed law for an opposition leader.

Nakachinda’s legal team has consistently argued that his conviction is unconstitutional, pointing to precedent set in the case of Fresher Siwale, leader of the New Labour Party.

Siwale was charged in 2018 with defamation of the President under Section 69 of the Penal Code after comments made on Muvi TV. When his case concluded in June 2023, Magistrate Alice Walusiku absolutely discharged him, ruling that the offence had been repealed and could no longer be used to prosecute anyone.

The repeal of Section 69 was enacted in December 2022, when the government removed the offence of criminal defamation of the President from Zambia’s statutes. Despite this, Nakachinda’s 2024 conviction and his 2025 denial of bail both rest on the same repealed provision.

The cases of Zaloumis, Siwale and Nakachinda now stand as a test of Zambia’s judicial integrity. While one accused walks free on bail in a homicide matter and another was discharged under a repealed law, Nakachinda remains incarcerated for an offence that no longer exists.

Legal observers warn that such contradictions undermine the rule of law and public confidence in the courts. Until the judiciary applies the law consistently, many Zambians will continue to believe that justice depends not on the law, but on who you know.