A 25-year-old cyber consultant from Balastone, Lusaka, has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labour for inciting military personnel to rise against the government.
Lusaka Senior Resident Magistrate Trevor Kasanda convicted Brighton Mwanza a rabbit farmer and cyber expert after finding him guilty of the offence of inciting mutiny, which involves attempting to persuade members of the armed forces to abandon their allegiance to the State.
Mwanza was arrested in August last year after posting comments on X (formerly Twitter) that allegedly encouraged members of the military to rebel, referencing recent coup d’états in West African nations. One of the posts referenced “Captain Solo,” drawing attention to the high cost of mealie meal and expressing frustration with political leadership in Zambia.
When the case was brought before the court, Mwanza pleaded not guilty. The prosecution called multiple witnesses, after which the court ruled that he had a case to answer.
In his defence, Mwanza claimed his tweets were about economic hardships particularly the high cost of mealie meal—and how Zambians depend heavily on political figures. He explained that his first tweet read: “The price of mealie meal K300? Captain Solo could not have let this slide, we are getting soft as a nation and these politicians are taking us for granted.”
His second tweet, according to his testimony, stated: “Other countries have successfully fought neo-colonialism. Soon Zambians will realise our democracy is being used to exploit the ordinary citizens. This is a wake-up call to our men and women in uniform time to fight and defend mother Zambia now.”
Mwanza argued that the “Captain Solo” referenced in his post was not the Zambian coup mastermind Stephen Lungu, but a fictional character named Jack Solo from a novel by William Boyd. He denied any intent to incite rebellion.
However, in delivering judgment, Magistrate Kasanda emphasized the seriousness of the social media posts, stating they posed a threat to Zambia’s long-standing peace.
“The peace we enjoy today as a country should be guarded, and posts such as these must be frowned upon,” the magistrate said.
He concluded that the prosecution had successfully proven that Mwanza’s online statements were intended to provoke members of the Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force, Zambia National Service (ZNS), and Zambia Police Service to defy lawful authority and overthrow the government.
“In the circumstances, and for the reasons stated, I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case against the accused person for the offence of inciting mutiny, contrary to Section 48 of the Penal Code Chapter 87. I therefore find him guilty,” Magistrate Kasanda ruled.