Opposition MMD chairman for elections Gabriel Namulambe has confirmed the attacks by ruling Patriotic Front cadres on their loose alliance partners UPND councillor for Matushi ward in Mufumbwe identified as a Mr Kayona.
Namulambe has said the PF has realised they don’t have a chance to win the by-election in Mufumbwe tomorrow and were now resorting to violence to intimidate voters in the area.
The Mpongwe law-maker, who has spent over 30 days in Mufumbwe campaigning for the MMD candidate Stafford Mulusa, has told close friends that what is disturbing is that the violence is happening in full view of heavy police presence.
Namulambe said the vehicles of those involved in the violence have been identified and the ring leaders were also well known individuals.
But the popular website, Zambian Watchdog, has gone a little further by identifying PF ex-convict and top cadre who has been romped into the Zambian intelligence system Judge Ngoma as the ring leader behind Tuesday’s violent attacks on UPND officials.
Apparently Judge Ngoma has been carrying huge sums of money donated to the party and is armed while in Mufumbwe. He fired two shots in the air to instill fear in would be voters.
The Zambian Watchdog reports that senior security sources said Judge Ngoma resorted to violence after he and PF deputy campaign manager Newton Malwa were stopped from distributing money to voters by councillor Kayona.
After assaulting the UPND official, Judge Ngoma together with Malwa and others fired two shots in the air that led to residents of Matushi Ward in Mufumbwe to scamper in all directions.
Meanwhile, Police in Mufumbwe who were around when Judge Ngoma committed the crime, also assaulted Councillor Kayona’s wife when she went to complain about Police ineffectiveness at Mufumbwe Police Station.
Judge Ngoma was pardoned by President Sata after the High Court jailed him for abducting PF critics when they were in opposition. The High Court judge who sentenced Ngoma has since been tranferred from Lusaka to Kitwe as a way of frustrating her.