A 69-year-old farmer from Kitwe, Kevin William Soper, testified in court that he was alarmed by remarks allegedly made by Raphael Nakacinda, suggesting that President Hakainde Hichilema had directed investigative wings to raid former President Edgar Lungu’s residence.
Nakacinda appeared before the court in connection with charges of seditious practices.
Soper, who resides at Farm 3416 in Wusakile, stated that he came across a video on September 26, 2024, while in Lusaka. He was scrolling through Facebook when he encountered a video on the Kanele FM platform.
According to Soper, the individual in the video addressed the public, criticized the President, and spoke about the alleged persecution of Lungu.
“I listened to the video, and he made statements that alarmed me,” Soper testified.
“He alleged that the President had weaponized the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), and the Zambia Police to raid Mr. Lungu’s house at night.”
Soper further stated that Nakacinda urged members of the Patriotic Front (PF) to gather near Lungu’s residence in Chifwema.
“He incited people to confront law enforcement agencies and ultimately ‘engage’ President Hichilema,” Soper said.
Upon seeing the video, Soper reported the matter to the police and was referred to the cybercrime unit.
There, officers retrieved and verified the video from his phone. The same video was later played in court.
During cross-examination, defense lawyer Nkula Botha questioned the timeline of Soper’s report, highlighting that the forensic examination request was dated September 30, 2024, while the data extraction from Facebook was completed on October 7, 2024.
“You reported the matter on September 27, yet the forensic extraction was done on October 7. How do you explain this?” Botha asked.
Soper acknowledged the discrepancy but maintained that the video had been available on his phone before the forensic process.
Botha also questioned Soper on whether Nakacinda was being charged with using insulting language, to which Soper responded that he was unaware of the specific charges.
The defense further argued that questioning government actions is not an offense and asked Soper if he was aware that The Mast newspaper had published a story about a raid at Lungu’s residence. Soper stated he had no knowledge of such a report.
Nakacinda pleaded not guilty to a charge of seditious practice, contrary to section 57 as read with 60(1)(e) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
The prosecution alleges that on September 26, 2024, through Kanele 97.7 FM’s Facebook page, Nakacinda made statements claiming that President Hichilema directed law enforcement agencies to raid Lungu’s house. The alleged utterance was described as an attempt to incite discontent among the public.
The case continues on Tuesday.
