On 2 April 2026, the Pretoria High Court dismissed Mudolo’s bid to have two prosecutors removed from his case, describing his application as “a desperate attempt to stop the prosecutor from prosecuting the matter”.
On 19 May 2026, the SABC reported that Willah Joseph Mudolo is “a front runner in Zambia's upcoming presidential elections scheduled for August”, elections now just two months away.
Shortly after that report emerged, the NPA indicated that it intends to seek the cancellation of Mudolo’s bail, following earlier reports that Mudolo had sought to acquire an aircraft ahead of his planned presidential campaign.
The timing was striking: Mudolo was about to sign his formal acceptance letter to contest the Presidency of Zambia, and the candidate nomination deadline was fast approaching. The NPA argued that the aircraft inquiry proved he intended to flee South Africa.
Mudolo’s legal team responded that if he truly wanted to flee, he could have done so at any time over the past five years through South Africa’s notoriously porous land borders, by road, or even on foot. He did not need a plane.
