By James Kunda
LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) – Maureen Mabonga, a Zambian parliamentarian from the former ruling Patriotic Front party, was sentenced to eight months in prison on Friday for "seditious practices" that included inciting a "national uprising" on ethnic grounds.
The government prosecution had requested Lusaka Magistrate Trevor Kasanda to convict Mabonga of two separate charges. However, after hearing arguments from both sides, the magistrate sentenced Mabonga to eight months in jail and a fine of 1,600 Zambian Kwachas (just under $100).
Mabonga, an Mfuwe constituency member of parliament (East of Zambia) on the former ruling Patriotic Front party ticket, is the second parliamentarian to face jail in the same month, following Munir Zulu.
Magistrate Kasanda stated in his ruling that Mabonga uttered seditious words that had the potential to incite a national uprising on political and ethnic grounds.
Mabonga was accused of uttering seditious words in Lusaka during the last week of May 2024, which were interpreted as inciting violence against a specific ethnic group.
On May 2, 2025, Magistrate Kasanda sentenced Munir Zulu, another member of parliament, to 18 months in prison in a similar case stemming from a speech he gave to a large number of journalists on September 8, 2023, in which he insisted Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema dissolve Parliament during a national address later that year.
According to the Constitution, any convicted parliamentarian loses their seat, and a by-election in the region of concern will be held within the next three months.
Mabonga and her attorney made no media comments following the verdict, but supporters of her party gathered around the courtroom and expressed solidarity.