Princess Kasune Zulu, a former child bride and HIV activist who publicly disclosed her status in the late 1990s, is now at the centre of a major legal reform in Zambia after her ministry introduced a law making sexual offences non-bailable.

The ministry has now rendered all sexual offences non-bailable. The enactment of the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act No. 4 of 2026 now means that suspects of serious offences in Zambia, including child sexual abuse, rape and incest, must remain in custody until their cases are concluded by the courts.

The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) has welcomed the new law as progressive.