LUSAKA Lawyer Makebi Zulu says his client Shebby Chilekwa was taken to court in Kaoma and charged with murder without his knowledge.

ZANIS yesterday reported that Chilekwa, who is former president Edgar Lungu’s barber, had been charged with murder and he appeared in the Kaoma Magistrates’ Court for explanation of the charge.

Chilekwa was charged with the murder of Lawrence Banda, a UPND sympathizer, an offence which was allegedly committed on October 6, 2019 in Kaoma District.

But in an interview, Zulu said he was not informed by the police that Chilekwa would be taken to court on Monday.

“I am hearing it from you. Because ordinarily, the police know that he is our client, they are supposed to tell us so that we are there to represent him. They did not let us know that they were taking him to court. Even at the time of the arrest they did not let us know when they were going to arrest him. But that doesn’t stop the fact that they are in contempt of court because they should have taken him to UTH in the presence of counsel on Friday when the order was given but they chose not to. But that is intended to stop the application that we had for Habeas corpus; they know the matter is coming up tomorrow (Tuesday) so they have quickly charged him,” he said.

And Zulu said he would seek redress in the High Court over how his client had been treated and tortured.

“I don’t know what evidence they have. They have not told us to say that ‘on this day, we will be formally charging and arresting him.’ So, be that as it may, they may go ahead and charge him but we will certainly seek redress in the High Court of how he has been treated, he has been denied Counsel, he has been tortured. We have been making frantic efforts asking the police to tell us his whereabouts so that we can be there,” said Zulu.

“Even the time they were arresting him, ordinarily they ought to have had representation, they have not done so. All this has been an effort to try and stop or not expose the injuries that he suffered by reason of torture that he went through in their custody at Kalundu and in their custody. With all that, we will not sit back and watch injustice pass by. Now that they have formally charged him, he is no longer in their hands, we will make an effort to access him. I am sure he will be handed over to the Prison’s authority and we will get instructions from him.”