The Lusaka Magistrate Court has reserved ruling in a bail application in a matter in which popular musician Mumba Yachi is facing immigration related charges.

Magistrate Ruth Kapulo said Mumba will remain in jail until he acquires a temporal permit to stay in Zambia.

She reserved her ruling this morning saying the first count he faces of unlawful stay in Zambia will be breached should she grant him bail in the absence of permit from the immigration department.

The matter has been adjourned to 18th September for mention and 22 October for the commencement of trial, for now you will remain remanded.

Mumba on Thursday denied three charges which include unlawful stay in Zambia contrary to section 11(3) read together with 56 (1) of the immigration and deportation act number 18 of 2010 of the laws of Zambia in count one while in count two, he is accused of giving information false in a material particular contrary to section 13 (1) (1) of the National Registration Act cap 126 of the Laws of Zambia.

In the third count, Mumba is accused of making the false representation for purposes of obtaining a passport contrary to section 23 (1) (a) a) of the Passport Act No 28 of 2016 of the laws of Zambia.

He has been in detention since August 28.

A senior citizen Professor Elijah Ngwale has described the Anti-Mutati protests as a shameless endeavour which should not be allowed to continue.

Speaking when he called in on the Thursday edition of UNZA radio’s the Lusaka Star radio program, Mr Ngwale said the actions of the PF cadres were tantamount to economic sabotage.

He said he was one of the people who was intiatialy against the appointment Felix Mutati as Finance Minister but that he had no issue with the minister now because he has performed beyond expectations and turned around the country’s economy.

“These acts are tantamount to and in conformity with espionage and economic sabotage, it is political savagery of its worst kind.

“I was against the decision made by President Edgar Lungu to appoint MMD president Felix Mutati, I even wrote a letter to President Lungu at State House elaborating why I opposed it. Not because Felix Mutati was my enemy, actually he is my very good friend instead,” he said

Mr Ngwale added that President Lungu should be proud that he appointed Felix Mutati because he has delivered.

He urged the President to instead fire Davis Mwila and send him in diplomatic service preferably Cambodia.

“President Lungu should be proud he appointed this guy, Felix Mutati has proven me wrong on all counts, the guy has delivered, the guy has changed the face of our economy in less than a year.

“The one who must be fired is the Secretary General Davies Mwila himself, in fact let him be shown the exit door ,reorient him and post him into diplomatic service, throw him as far as Cambodia,” he said.

Other callers who included Mr Kazia from Kanyama Compund a known UPND sympathiser agreed with Mr Ngwale that the country’s economy was doing fine under the stewardship of Felix Mutati hence should be left in his position.

Featuring on the program was MMD Die Hard Youths National Coordinator Gerald Chiluba and Prince Ndoyi who noted that the reasons the PF cadres were giving for Mutati to be dropped were too petty and should be ignored with the contempt they deserve.

Mr Chiluba said how can the nshima cooked at the MMD Secretariat be an issue that should take mature people to the streets to protest against a national leader.

He noted that the reasons such as the one some PF youths are crying over that Mr Mutati doesn’t give them audience did not hold water because Mr Mutati was a minister for Zambia and not a PF treasurer.

Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo says the period of state of threatened public emergency has achieved its intended purpose.

Mr. Kampyongo says the police and all other security wings must be commended for ensuring that Zambia continues to enjoy the peace.

He says the security situation in the country is now stable but that Police and other security wings will not relent in ensuring that all trouble makers are brought to book.

The Minister has told ZNBC News in an interview that Police will not allow politics where people want to sow seeds of discord as the practice will not help anyone.

The number of Congolese asylum-seekers that have fled to Zambia from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past one week has now gone over 1, 800.

According to Government authorities, over 1, 832 Congolese asylum-seekers crossed the border between Wednesday 30 August and 6 September 2017 through Chiengi’s Kamponge and surrounding border entry points in the District, situated north of Zambia.

From January to 29th August this year, a total of 2, 646 DRC asylum seekers crossed the border. This brings the total number of Congolese new arrivals between 1st January and 6th September 2017 to 4, 478.

While most of the new arrivals have presented themselves to authorities and UNHCR, others have temporarily settled within the host community, where they have close family links, but are being moved from the villages to a temporarily holding facility, pending relocation.

Traditional authorities in Chiengi have since requested the Government of Zambia to move all the new arrivals and put them under its care.

Some 1, 080 new arrivals are at a temporary holding centre at Ponda Secondary School on the outskirts of Chiengi. The Government and UNHCR have today started moving the Congolese to Nchelenge Transit Centre, further in-land, for on-ward relocation to Meheba Refugee Settlement, in North Western Zambia, 1, 300 km away, where all new arrivals in Zambia are being settled.

According to the new arrivals, generalised insecurity, characterized by clashes between Congolese and different militias around the towns of Pweto and Moba, has led to them fleeing to Zambia to seek asylum.

The new arrivals consist mainly of women and children. They have fled with a lot of hand luggage.

UNHCR is providing basic life-saving humanitarian assistance (food, water, sanitation, tents, blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, kitchen sets and cloths) to the new arrivals.

UNHCR, jointly with Government requires urgent funding to assist the Government, and has reached out to various partners and donors for assistance to help with the logistics of relocation, put up basic facilities are at Nchelenge and open a new holding centre in Chiengi.

As of 31 July 2017, the total population of Congolese in Zambia (asylum-seekers and refugees) was 25, 467.

Zambia currently hosts some 59,195 refugees and others of concern, mostly from Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia and Uganda. The vast majority reside in two refugee settlements – Mayukwayukwa in Western Province and Meheba in North Western Province, while others live in urban areas or are self-settled in various parts of the country.