Bench warrant issued against PF’s Nickson Chilangwa for failure to appear in court

THE Kawambwa Magistrate Court has issued a bench warrant against Kawambwa Central Member of Parliament Nickson Chilangwa for failure to appear in court.

Magistrate Martin Namushi ordered that the bench warrant be retainable on Friday, May 26, 2023.

This follows the continuous absence of Mr. Chilangwa in court, where him and six others were scheduled to open the defence in the case they are charged for arson, threatening violence, malicious damage to property and four counts of assault in 2021.

However, before issuing the bench warrant, Magistrate Namushi ordered the surety to explain why the accused was not present despite being aware of the date of being in court.

Daniel Mulenga told the court that Mr. Chilangwa was not in court today as he was attending another High Court case in Lusaka and to that effect, the affidavit had been filed before the court.

However, Magistrate Namushi noted that the continuous absence of Mr. Chilangwa in court was causing unnecessary delays to dispose of the case which was scheduled for commencement of defence and finish within the agreed period of 10 days.

The Magistrate stated that he was left with no other option but to order for the arrest of Mr. Chilangwa, saying he can no longer entertain the application by the defence counsel to further adjourn the case to June 26, 2023.

In this matter, the other accused persons are Kawambwa Council Chairperson Kalumba Chifumbe, Kunda Chitotela, Chabu Chitotela, Davy Kaniki and Chibwe Musantu, all members of the Patriotic Front Party.

It is alleged that the seven accused persons, during the Presidential and General Election campaigns on August 12, 2021 while acting together assaulted four United Party For National Development (UPND) members, damaged the windscreen of the Mahindra motor vehicle before setting it ablaze and also threatened violence.