Court sentences Fred Mmembe to Four Months with Hard Labour

Post Editor-in-Chief Fred Mmembe has been sentenced to four months imprisonment with hard labour after being found guilty of contempt of court together with the Post Newspapers by a Lusaka magistrate court.

Mr M’membe has also been sentenced to four months simple imprisonment on behalf of the Post Newspapers, after Magistrate David Simusamba set free Post Human Resources Director Rueben Phiri was standing in for the Newspaper.

The contempt case arose from an article authored by US-based Zambian law Professor Muna Ndulo titled: ‘The Chansa Kabwela case: A Comedy of Errors’, and published in the paper on August 27, 2009.

I am not a legal expert but the sentence seems harsh. However, we have to understand that the original case only came to the courts after intervention of the President (remember he termed the pictures pornography).

I hope sanity will prevail and Fred will be released on bail pending an appeal and that the courts will be left to deal with this case independent of the politicians.

The PANEL.