LUSAKA Province UPND chairman Obvious Mwaliteta and Kafue businessman James Sichomba have sued the Attorney General demanding damages for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution on charges of possession of offensive weapons.
The duo is also demanding special damages for expenses incurred in the sum of K300,000.
In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, the two stated that they were on March 27, 2019, arrested by the Police on two charges of possession of offensive weapons.
“The defendant is liable for the malicious acts of Zambia Police officers whose identities, save where mentioned, are unknown to the plaintiffs, among others Mr Nelson Phiri (former commissioner for Lusaka) and Mr Jason Lungu, the officer in charge at Kafue Police station at the material time, acting under the direction and control of the defendant in the performance or purported performance of their duties. On March 27, 2019, the plaintiffs in Kafue were without a reasonable and plausible cause apprehended and wrongfully arrested for possession of unlawful weapons, the burden being on the defendant to justify the act of apprehending the plaintiffs. Without prejudice to the above, there were no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the plaintiffs committed the offense of possession of unlawful weapons,” they stated.
The plaintiffs stated that they were falsely imprisoned for a period of four days for a bailable or bondable offence.
Mwaliteta stated that he was put on defence and acquitted after the court found him not guilty.
They argued that the charge against them was malicious and without reasonable and probable cause whatsoever, adding that they were only prosecuted because they were members of the UPND.
