NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili says people should not be afraid of criticising President Edgar Lungu when he does something wrong because he is just a human being like everyone else, and not God who should be worshipped.

And Kambwili says President Lungu only owned a Toyota Rav4 before becoming president but is now so rich that he even built houses in India.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Kawama area of Roan Constituency, Wednesday, Kambwili also warned that people would be eating their own children if they vote for PF in 2021.

Meanwhile, UPND Copper belt chairperson Elisha Matambo who is also deputy campaign manager for the NDC candidate said PF won’t win the by-election even if they decided to use witchcraft.

“They have been arresting me thinking that I will be intimidated and stop talking about corruption, but to their shock the moment I am released, I still tell Lungu that ‘you have stolen.’ Because I am not intimidated when I am telling someone the truth. The problem in this country is that we want to be worshiping the president as if he is also God. A president is just a human like all of us, when he errors we just have to approach him without fear and tell him that ‘niwebo pompwe munshibila nsala’ (you are a blatant thief). My father was telling me that a witch cannot be impressed, even the person trying to impress a witch can be bewitched but when you tell him off about his witchcraft, he won’t bewitch you. That’s why I tell them off because I know they can’t touch me, they would have killed me already but God has been shielding me,” Kambwili said.

“We had good plans for this country with President Michael Sata but after he died, a blatant thief took over and things went wrong. The only thing the gentleman who is President now knows is stealing public funds for himself. He is building houses in India; he has built the biggest shopping mall in Africa in Uganda. He now has houses all over Lusaka, but before he became President he only had one [Toyota] Rav4 and it was always smoking like a charcoal kiln. Today he has more money than all of us who have been doing business.”

And Kambwili said it was not true that there would be no development in the area if people voted for the opposition, arguing that there was development in areas such as Southern province which has opposition MPs.

“Don’t be lied to that if you vote for the opposition there will be no development, look at Southern, Western and North-Western Provinces, there are no ruling party MPs but there is development. Let them not lie to you that if you vote for Chibuye (PF candidate), Lungu will be giving him money, how can thieving Lungu give him money? They only thing Lungu knows is stealing and stashing in his pockets. He has even failed to speak for miners as if he has no voice, unless when it comes to dancing, he is very skilled. He is now embarrassing the country with his indecent dances. But it’s because our colleague is a drunkard, his heard is filled with drunkenness. Don’t destroy the country further fellow citizens, usher into office leaders who are thinking, this is why we have united with HH and others.”

And Kambwili warned that people would be eating on their children due to hunger if they voted for PF in 2021.

“If you allow Lungu to continue beyond 2021, you will start eating your own children because this government has borrowed recklessly such that they don’t have money for social services such as health and education, and some of you want to continue with PF. If I who campaigned for Lungu is saying that it’s time to remove him from office, why would you want to vote for him? He tricked me after all the efforts in campaigning for him but he will need me one day and he will not find me because I am now on the other side. We will see how he will campaign after all he can’t even talk properly,” Kambwili said.

Meanwhile, Kambwili said government had increased electricity tariffs but that they were just waiting for by-elections to pass before announcing.

“They have even increased electricity tariffs, they are just afraid of announcing now because of the by-elections. They will announce just after the elections, they have increased by 300 units. Everyone is suffering in this country; even those police officers you are seeing there are also suffering. So even you police officers I am warning you, don’t intimidate people on the voting day, let them vote freely because even you need to be served by Kambwili and his team from your suffering,” said Kambwili.

And UPND Copper belt chairperson Elisha Matambo who is also deputy campaign manager for the NDC candidate, said PF was not going to win the by-election.

“No matter what these thieves will do, they will lose here in Roan, no matter what kind of witchcraft they will use, they are going to lose. They now want to bring violence here so that they can destruct you from voting for NDC. But you must defend yourselves the same way the people of Sesheke defended themselves, don’t go and sleep after voting, you must be near the polling station so that we can protect the votes,” said Matambo.