The Lusaka Magistrates Court has acquitted UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema in a case in which he was charged for using insulting language.
Delivering judgment this morning, Magistrate Greenwell Malumani said the state had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Magistrate Malumani said Mr Hichilema was therefore not guilty of the offence as the prosecution who are also witnesses exhibited high levels of unprofessionalism and incompetence as they did not investigate any of the three cases Mr Hichilema has been charged with.
Magistrate Malumani found that the police officers, who were the only witnesses in the case, were inconsistent in their testimonies and proved unreliable.
He said it was clear that the prosecution lied due to inconsistent statements given to the court by the arresting officer Mpanzi Mbita last week who later apologised for misleading the court.
Meanwhile, the Lusaka Magistrate court has set May 22, 2017 to decide if the treason case against UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema should go ahead.
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