Charmaine Musonda has sued the State in the Lusaka High Court, demanding damages of K800,000 for false imprisonment.

Musonda, who has sued the Attorney General, wants damages for false imprisonment, malicious imprisonment, aggravated and exemplary damages.

She was jointly charged with the now murder-convict Keith Mukata for the murder of a security guard, Namakambwa Kalilakwenda, in 2017.

In February last year, however, the Lusaka High Court convicted and sentenced Mukata to death by hanging for the murder of his security guard and acquitted Musonda.

In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court principal registry, Musonda stated that she was arrested on May 6, 2017 on a charge of murder.

She added that the Attorney General was liable for the malicious acts of the Zambia police.

Musonda stated that she was apprehended without probable cause and wrongly arrested for the murder of Kalilakwenda.

She stated that the burden was on the State to justify the act of apprehending her, adding that there was no reasonable grounds for suspecting that she committed the offence of murder.

“In the premises, the plaintiff (Musonda) was falsely imprisoned by the the defendant for a period of over 300 days from May 6, 2017 to February 28, 2018,” read the statement of claim.

Musonda further stated that there was no direct evidence linking her to the death of the security guard, adding that the place where she was apprehended from was a law firm thus accessible to clients and members of the public without exception.

She stated that particulars of false imprisonment were that she was then transferred to Lusaka Central Correctional Facility where she was held until she was released when High Court judge Susan Wanjelani found her not guilty and accordingly acquitted her after trial.

Musonda lamented that by reason of the foregoing, she had suffered loss and damage and had lost liberty for 300 days.

She stated that the State’s agents caused her to be detained for an unbailable offence of murder merely on account of being found at AKM legal practitioners (Mukata’s law firm).

Musonda added that there was no evidence that she was ever involved in the murder of the deceased, thus the proceedings against her were instituted or carried out maliciously.

She is now demanding K800,000 damages for false imprisonment.