By Gibson Zulu
Solomon Mbewe and Felix Chipili have finally been released after spending more than nine months in custody, including 20 days after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) discontinued the aggravated robbery proceedings against them and the High Court ordered their release.
The two men were freed on 12 November 2026, following repeated efforts by their families to establish why they remained detained despite the court’s order of 23 October.
Mbewe, 26, and Chipili, 22, were arrested on 3 February 2026 and charged with aggravated robbery. They pleaded not guilty when their trial began in the Lusaka High Court on 5 October.
The proceedings were adjourned several times before the DPP entered a nolle prosequi on 23 October, formally discontinuing the prosecution against the two men.
Following the prosecution’s decision, High Court Judge Mutinta Kaumbi Ndulo-Mundia ordered their discharge from custody.
Under Section 81(1) of Zambia’s Criminal Procedure Code, a nolle prosequi requires an accused person to be discharged from custody in relation to the discontinued proceedings, although the State may institute fresh proceedings on the same facts.
Despite the court’s order, Mbewe and Chipili remained in detention, prompting their families to seek an explanation from the authorities.
A family member previously told MakanDay that a senior state advocate had informed them that he had received instructions from the DPP to have the two men re-arrested.
MakanDay has been unable to independently verify whether such an instruction was issued or whether the men were formally re-arrested.
MakanDay wrote to the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) seeking clarification on the circumstances surrounding their continued detention and the alleged instruction to re-arrest them.
The NPA had not responded to either request for comment by the time of publication, including an earlier letter sent while the two men were still in custody.
Although Mbewe and Chipili have now been released, questions remain about the legal basis for their continued detention, whether any fresh arrest or detention order was issued, and who authorised their detention despite the High Court’s release order.
Related reading: Two Men Remain in Custody Despite Discontinuance of Robbery Case
Photo: This is an AI-generated image created for illustrative purposes only. The people depicted are not Solomon Mbewe or Felix Chipili.
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