Political commentator Dennis Mutumba has called on the authorities to show the public that former Petauke Central MP Emmanuel ‘Jay Jay’ Banda is alive and in lawful custody. He said unverified claims on social media that Mr Banda has been shot dead are fuelling public anxiety and must be answered. Police have said Mr Banda is being held awaiting a formal charge, but no court appearance has yet confirmed his condition. Mr Mutumba said Zambians have a constitutional right to know the whereabouts of a man the State says it brought back from Mozambique.
Speaking in a televised interview, Mr Mutumba said he could not say with certainty whether Mr Banda had been arrested, because most of the available information was coming from social media. He said claims of tight security around a mortuary had added to the speculation. None of these claims has been confirmed by any official source. Mr Mutumba said the surest way to end the rumours was for the authorities to produce Mr Banda and charge him without further delay.
“As Zambians, it’s within our constitutional right to know the whereabouts of this man,” Mr Mutumba said.
The commentator linked the public’s suspicion to the handling of the death of Mutotwe Kafwaya, which he said was initially denied by those responsible for informing the public before it was later announced. That episode, he argued, has left many citizens unwilling to take official statements at face value. He said trust is earned through openness, particularly in politically sensitive cases. A clear and timely statement on Mr Banda’s status, he said, would close the space in which the rumours are spreading.
“Why not wait for the police to do their investigations and then give us a comprehensive statement to say JJ Banda is formally charged on such and such issues?” he asked.
Mr Mutumba questioned why charging Mr Banda was taking so long when he already faces an offence of escaping from lawful custody. He pointed to President Hakainde Hichilema’s own position that suspects should appear before a court within 48 hours of arrest. He said he was not defending Mr Banda’s alleged conduct and expected the former MP to face the full force of the law. His concern, he said, was the professionalism and speed with which the case is being handled.
“I’m not saying that what JJ Banda was doing is right, but I’m looking at professionalism, the quickness of taking these matters so seriously, so that people who have committed serious offences can be taken to court,” Mr Mutumba said.
The commentator did not criticise the operation itself. Asked whether the State had acted within domestic and international law in bringing Mr Banda back from Mozambique, he said it had. That places him at odds with Amnesty International and 24 local and international civil society organisations, which have raised human rights concerns about Mr Banda’s apprehension and transfer. It also puts him alongside a separate consortium of civil society groups, which argued this week that international law cannot shield a suspect from accountability.
Mr Banda has spent much of the past two years before the courts. He was charged in June 2024 with aggravated robbery over the alleged theft of property worth K12,000 in 2015, a non-bailable offence he denies. On the night of 4 August 2024, he escaped from Chipata General Hospital while under the guard of police and correctional officers. He was arrested in Harare three months later and is now reported to face allegations of attempted murder and aggravated robbery following his apprehension in Mozambique.
Police have not publicly responded to the claims circulating on social media. Until Mr Banda appears before a court, the questions raised by Mr Mutumba are likely to persist. A court appearance would settle the rumours about his condition and the debate about delay at the same time. For the authorities, it is also the simplest way to show that the process is being handled by the book.
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