Martha Mwitumwa Charged With Treason as Daughter Is Rearrested at Court

Former Zambian ambassador Martha Mwitumwa has been charged with treason, while her daughter Esther was taken back into custody inside the Lusaka High Court shortly after a judge ordered her release, according to the report. Esther Mwitumwa had been freed following a successful habeas corpus application over her prolonged detention. Police then arrested her again at the court and charged her with treason. She had worked as a member and administrator of the Tonse Alliance Secretariat, which the article says was closely aligned with her mother during the former diplomat’s tenure. Police allege Martha Mwitumwa acted with other people whose identities have not been disclosed in a plan to seize the state’s executive authority. Police spokesperson Chipo Kaitisha said the alleged offence took place in Lusaka between November 2025 and October 23, 2026. She said the accusation concerns an alleged effort to pursue an unlawful enterprise aimed at usurping executive power. Mwitumwa, 59, has been formally charged under Section 43(1) of Zambia’s Penal Code and remains in police custody awaiting a court appearance, Kaitisha said. The allegations have not been tested in court. The report describes Mwitumwa as a veteran public servant with more than 30 years of service. She worked as a district commissioner and administrative officer from 2009 to 2012, then led Gender in Development until 2017. Later, she directed State Functions, Protocol and Public Relations at Cabinet Office. In 2019, she was appointed ambassador to Switzerland and also served as Zambia’s permanent representative to international organisations in Geneva and Vienna. The article says she later took an active role in the administration and campaign team of the opposition Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance. The charges against mother and daughter place the family at the centre of a politically sensitive legal case, with key allegations still awaiting consideration by the courts.