The Zambian government has told the court it will oppose bail for Bishop Trewvor Mwanda and the other defendants arrested with him, according to a report by the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation.

The state’s decision means Bishop Mwanda will remain in custody unless the court rejects the prosecution’s application or grants bail on terms it considers sufficient. The precise grounds the prosecution intends to advance against bail were not set out in the broadcast report available to Anglican.Ink.

The bishop’s arrest and continuing detention have prompted concern among Anglicans in Zambia and abroad. The case now turns first on the bail application, rather than on any finding regarding the allegations against Bishop Mwanda and his co-defendants.

A prosecutor’s opposition to bail is not a determination of guilt. Bishop Mwanda and the other accused remain entitled to contest the state’s case, to seek their release pending trial, and to the presumption of innocence under the law.

The ZNBC report indicates the state is prepared to argue that they should remain in detention while the matter proceeds. A ruling on bail will therefore be the next material test of the prosecution’s case and of the court’s assessment of the risks claimed by the government.

Anglican.Ink has previously reported on the arrest and detention of Bishop Mwanda amid the wider dispute surrounding the church in Zambia. The decision to resist bail raises the stakes in a matter that has already become a point of anxiety for clergy and laity concerned about due process, the independence of the courts, and the place of the church in Zambia’s public life.

No independent account of the alleged facts supporting the charges, nor of Bishop Mwanda’s response to them, was available at press time. Anglican.Ink will update this report when the bail hearing is held and court documents or statements from the defence become available.