Roan PF member of parliament Chishimba Kambwili this evening got yet another beating ordeal in Parliament, this time from Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe after he called him a witch.

The incident happened when Kambwili was debating the 2019 budget and Sikazwe kept interrupting with running commentaries.

It took a horde of other MPs to restrain Sikazwe who reached out for Kambwili’s throat while throwing punches in the Chambers.

“I was debating about debt, but Sikakzwe kept on interrupting with running commentaries. He was shouting ati ‘iwee ikalafye (just sit down) you were part of the decision’. He was saying ‘just sit down that’s rubbish debate’. Then I said Mr Speaker don’t worry about Honourable Sikazwe, he was supposed to be a witchdoctor at some village, so that’s why he is making noise,” Kambwili narrated.

“After I said that, that’s when he followed me right in the House and started saying ndekuponona ine, ndaponona ine (I will beat you, me I beat). So he held me by the neck and threw a punch. Then the Parliament security and other MPs came to take him away. After business was suspended, just after the national anthem as the Speaker was walking out, he came for me. Even when I walked outside parliament, he followed me again and he started attacking me.”

Asked what he was going to do about the incident, Kambwili said it was useless to take any action because last time when he reported Bowman Lusambo for slapping him, the offender was given a “rubbish punishment”.

“When people have failed and they are feeling the effects of failure, they are bound to get upset like that. So the best is just to ignore them. Those guys are wounded because they know that things are not going well for them. They know that they have brought a lot of suffering on the people of Zambia,” said Kambwili.

“As long I was not hurt, I will leave it to posterity and the public to judge him. Look at what happened to Bowman Lusambo after he slapped me, he was suspended for one month but he got his salary and he continued to work as Minister. So what was that suspension about because he didn’t even feel the punishment, he was given a rubbish punishment.”

When contacted, Sikazwe said Kambwili deserved it.

“If he is claiming that he was punched, then he deserves it. But people were there, you can ask them. I would have punched him but I was restrained by the people. I didn’t follow him in the car park, I found him on the Roadside and he was waving at me when I was driving out,” he said.

Asked what made him angry to attacked his fellow lawmaker, Sikazwe said he got annoyed because Kambwili called him a witch.

“It was the usual debate, he was debating and in his debate, he was alleging that this government, whatever money they are getting, they are getting the money ‘question!’ that is what followed, where we said ‘question’. And his comment now was that ‘people who are saying question, like this one seated here Honourable Sikazwe is a witch. And that’s what annoyed me. You can go and get the verbatim from parliament, that made me annoyed,” he said.

Asked if he was going to punch him if there were no people to restrain him, Sikazwe said he was going to punch Kambwili hard because he is a stupid man.

“Yes I would have punched him seriously because he is very stupid,” said Sikazwe.