FRED M’membe and his wife Mutinta have challenged the police’s continued stay at their residence in the Lusaka High Court saying it is illegal.

Last Wednesday afternoon, a horde of heavily armed police raided Dr M’membe’s house after the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court ordered the Zambia Police Service to arrest him for allegedly impersonating a Post official.

Police instead arrested Mutinta after she allegedly tore a search warrant.

The police have since been camped at the M’membes’ residence and under Post provisional liquidator Lewis Mosho’s instruction, they towed Dr M’membe’s speed boat and attempted to dismantle a printing press which The Mast had been using to print from his garage.

However, after failing to dismantle the printing press, they took away small components; rendering the machine useless.

But in their application, the duo described the police’s continued stay as irrational and illegal.

“It is the applicants’ complaint that it is illegal for the police to occupy their home, plot number 7345, Nangwennya Road Lusaka which is privately owned. The applicants contend further that the police cannot at law use their power to take private property and therefore the action of the police in taking steps to dismantle and take a privately owned printing press owned by the applicants is illegal,” they argued

“The applicant hereby request a hearing of this application before the Judge pursuant to Rule 3(3) of Order 53 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1999 Edition. If leave to apply is granted, a direction that such grant should operate as a stay of the decision to which this application relates pursuant to Rule 3(10)(a) of Order 53 of the Rules of the Supreme Court.”

They asked the court to expedite the hearing for judicial review and that attempts to take the printing press was illogical as moving it would completely destroy it because it was delicate and required professional attention to dismantle.