BEING assaulted for performing functions of which I was elected is extremely painful, Given Lubinda tearfully told the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
The Minister of Justice, who said he had not managed to recover from “the shock of humiliation” he suffered after being assaulted last July, said he had served the people of Kabwata Constituency with “all diligence and all honesty”.
Lubinda broke down as he testified against Patriotic Front cadres in a matter where Martin Mambwe, a driver, is accused of assaulting him.
Mambwe is jointly charged with Patrick Mubanga, Major Chansa, Moses Mulenga and Goodson Mwange who are businessmen for proposing violence against Lubinda in July 12 last year when they allegedly told him, “We will beat you next time you step your foot in Kabwata Market”.
Lubinda, who sobbed as he testified, wondered who was safe if a minister like him despite having security could be assaulted.
The minister told chief resident magistrate Lameck Mwale that since his election as Kabwata member of parliament in 2001 to date, he would visit his constituency every day but when he was appointed minister, he visits the constituency every Friday afternoon.
Lubinda, 57, said he was one of five ministers privileged to have state security.
He recounted that on the afternoon of July 12, 2019 after Parliament adjourned, he went to his constituency office with his personal assistant and his driver and his professional assistant Paulsen Tembo told him that the programme for that day was not for him to attend to constituents in the office but instead visit Libala and Kabwata markets.
He said two weeks prior to his assault, he was visited by developers from Time Projects who were constructing a mall outside Kabwata Market and they complained to him (Lubinda) that they had paid a cadre K205,000 for him to go and pay traders who operate outside the market as compensation for them to vacate the site for the developer to put up a car park.
Lubinda said the complaint was made in the presence of town clerk Alex Mwansa and Kabwata ward six councillor Longa Chiboboka. He said as the area MP, he raised concern saying political parties should not be involved in the running of markets and bus stations.
“It became imperative for me to visit Kabwata Market to see for myself and talk to the marketeers. Initially I was supposed to go to Libala Market but my ADC suggested we go to Kabwata Market first because it is bigger than Libala Market,” Lubinda said.
“My ADC received a call from councillor Chiboboka saying we meet him at the market hall. He arrived in the company of a few people including the market master.”
Lubinda said that when he reached Kabwata Market, he began his tour from the northern end opposite the police station with his entourage and entered the main market structure.
“Many people…were very excited to see me in the market. I have been selected as Kabwata Member of parliament for four times with a landslide victory and wherever I go in the constituency, I am met with smiles and joy. The situation was welcoming,” he said.
“It was not easy to walk because many people wanted to talk to me. We walked in the aisle until we got to the end facing north. On my right hand side I noticed a beautifully built cosmetic shop and there was a lady in there. The stall was built very close to the drainage system.”
Lubinda said he approached the lady and inquired whether she was happy to be selling in front of the drainage and engaged her for several minutes.
During their conversation, the lady told him she was waiting for him as the MP to improve the market the same way he had improved Chilenje and Libala.
“My ADC and my other assistant stood on the other side as there was no space between the drainage and the shop. The councillor was five metres behind me. Whilst I was engaging the lady, I saw a large group of young men approaching from the northern side. I thought they were ordinary youths coming to meet their member of Parliament,” he said.
“One of them extended his hand and I shook hands with him. Before long someone standing behind me started hurling insults and the fellow who held my hand started pulling my hand. The fellow hurled insults in Bemba saying, ‘Iwe ci Lubinda ulicaoyo , ninshi ulefwaya muno mu market? Niwe uleonaula icipani twaliku votele bakupela bu minister ulelya bwino ne fibana fyobe nonba ulefwaya uletucinga ifwe mu market mulefwaya muletukanya ukubombela kuma bus. Bushe ifwe tukalya banoko (Lubinda you are useless, what do you want from here? You are the one who is destroying the party. We voted for you and you were appointed as minister, you are feeding well with your children, now you want to overshadow us in the market. You are stopping us from collecting levy from markets and bus stations. Are we going to eat your mother?”
Lubinda said at that moment there was commotion and his ADC came to his rescue and pulled his arm backwards and pushed me towards the north.
He said when he turned to look behind, he realised they were not ordinary youths as some were wearing masks.
“One youth had a chain and others had sticks. I realised I was in danger. I walked towards the north and walked towards the police direction using the aisle that I used when coming, my ADC was the one pushing me all the way. After we turned from the shop I heard a voice [say], ‘ba MP’ and I turned to look and I received a slap and a fist to my face and I felt kicks behind me. When I looked back again I saw my ADC had drawn his pistol and he was pointing at the youth who was three metres away from me,” he said.
“The youth looked shocked when the gun was pointed at his face and he knelt down and surrendered. I decided to continue walking away as the others were more loud, some were shouting nacikwata imfuti (he has a gun) and they were banging the shops making a lot of commotion and marketeers scampered for fear of being attacked.”
He told the court that he was not interested to know where others were as his interest was his safety, which was provided by his ADC and his professional assistant who risked being close to him when he was being beaten.
“It was extremely painful to go through such experience. I felt pain on the right side of my face, I felt shocked and very hot in my face,” Lubinda said.
He said his ADC and professional assistant followed him to Kabwata Police station and Chiboboka later joined him and he (Lubinda) reported the case of assault to officer Mwila who gave him a medical report.
He said he went to Kabwata clinic but there was no doctor and he proceeded to Chilenje Hospital where he was attended to by a female doctor who confirmed that his right cheek was swollen.
Lubinda added that he took the medical report to the police station and the officers told him they would call him after investigating the matter.
He said the following Monday he was called by officers asking him to go to the police station on Tuesday.
He said on Tuesday he was told police were conducting an identification parade where he was asked to identify the person who punched him in the face among the 10 men who were paraded, by touching his shoulder.
Lubinda said he was able to identify the person who took the second position in the parade as he was the person who punched him and whom his ADC had pointed a gun at.
Asked to point at the person who assaulted him, Lubinda identified the first accused person – Mambwe – as his assailant.
“My being assaulted for performing functions of which I was elected is extremely painful. I have not managed to recover from the shock of humiliation. I have served people with all diligence and all honesty and on that day I was in the market for the good of the people. To be beaten because people wanted to continue cadring is extremely painful,” Lubinda said as he broke down.
“I’m extremely fearful for this country. If a minister of government who has state protection 24-seven a day can be beaten in public, I wonder who is safe, I leave the rest to the court.”
During cross-examination by the accused’s lawyer Agrippa Mulando, Lubinda said that he could not confirm if Mambwe was one of the youths within his constituency.
He denied being aware that youths in his constituency had a meeting before he toured the market.
When asked if Mambwe was the one who received money from the developers, Lubinda denied.
He said he was not happy with cadres collecting money from developers.
Lubinda said he did not know whether the complaint was in public domain as it was not lodged to him and therefore he would not know how widely it was spread.
He affirmed that the person who shook his hand was not the one who assaulted him, adding that the person who assaulted him was not masked.
“When the mob came, they surrounded me. The assault was relating to the running of bus stations and markets. The slap and the fist were obviously from the same person, including the kicks, but I did not see who kicked me,” Lubinda said.
He further indicated that people who hurled insults at him were not from the party.
The matter comes up on April 24 for ruling on case to answer.