The Director of Public Prosecutions Mutembo Nchito has entered into a Nolle Prosequi in his own case in the on going legal show down over alleged criminal misconduct at the Lusaka Magistrates Court.
Nolle prosequi as a declaration can be made by a prosecutor in a criminal case either before or during trial, resulting in the prosecutor declining to further pursue the case against the defendant. Courts seldom challenge applications for nolle prosequi and the DPP of the Republic of Zambia has just entered one in his own favour.
But in this case, Nchito is the accused and he is the Chief Prosecutor setting what is arguably a legal precedent and the first of its kind in the Commonwealth legal system.
The declaration may be made because the charges cannot be proved due to evidence too weak to carry the burden of proof, because the evidence is fatally flawed in light of the claims brought.
Nchito faced at least 11 counts of criminal charges among them fraud and forgery and it will be interesting to note which direction this case will take in light of this development.