Cabinet has approved the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill 2025 for publication and introduction in Parliament during the current sitting, which – if passed into law – will see defilement, rape, incest, medicine, and stock thefts become non-bailable offences.
The proposed legislation seeks to provide for forensic criminal procedures and will also see theft of copper, diamond, gold, railway, aircraft, vertical signalisation installation with associated facilities and installations, distribution system, transmission system, vessels, traffic sign and navigation non-bailable.
The Bill will make the destruction of, or damaging of an aircraft, distribution system, transmission system, road airport infrastructure, aerodrome, vessel and navigation mark non-bailable offences.
Currently, the Criminal Procedure Code Cap 88 restricts the admissibility of forensic evidence to analysts trained in chemical or bacterial disciplines.
Chief Government Spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa said the restriction is a challenge as there is rapid advancement in forensic science.
Zambia Daily Mail