Justice Minister Given Lubinda says as a human being, there may be one or two people who don’t like him but inciting people to attack him is uncalled for.

And Lubinda says President Edgar Lungu will win the 2021 elections because the people are satisfied with what he has delivered.

On Friday, some Patriotic Front cadres attacked Lubinda, who is also Kabwata PF member of parliament, when he went to tour Kabwata Market. He reported the matter to the police thereafter and police spokesperson Esther Mwaata Katongo said investigations had been instituted to identify the “unknown people”.

Responding to a question on whether or not allegations that he was attacked because he sold part of Kabwata market were accurate, Lubinda challenged journalists to check the records at Ministry of Lands.

He also ceased the opportunity to show displeasure over the manner in which Muvi TV reporter Kalani Muchima reported the incident, charging that the journalist was inciting people to attack him.

“[The question that] the market was sold and that’s the reason why you were attacked. Somebody called me yesterday about this and I said to him, he is also a member of the press like you, I said to him that as journalists, it is your duty to understand the mechanics of government so that when you ask, you ask appropriate authorities to give you information. To ask a Minister of Justice, a member of parliament about a sale of a playground that belongs to the Lusaka City Council, without necessarily going to the Lusaka City Council is asking a wrong person, you’re asking a totally wrong person. So if there are accusations of that nature, the first point of call is Lusaka City Council, Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Lands. You don’t go to the one who is accused and say “hey, can you confirm the accusation”, no, you don’t. For any land to be sold, there must be a conveyance and the conveyance is deposited at Ministry of Lands so all anyone would do is go to Ministry of Lands and ask who owns it. You’ll see the records there. So I’ll avoid giving you a direct answer because I don’t want to prejudice any investigations and like Media director said, all those issues were raised by this one particular journalist. And maybe what you could do is to join our media director, he says he is going to challenge him to provide further and better particulars about his allegations so you will do very well as a journalist to go to your fellow journalist and say “hey, this story is very important and I want to join you in publishing it but for me, I don’t deal with Yellow Journalism, I want facts, please, lead me, let’s go together, let’s get the facts right. Then you’ll do very well, not for me, but for the people who will be reading your story,” Lubinda said during a PF interactive forum, Sunday.

“Like Mr Chanda said, to tell society that people are saying break his bones, he is inciting people to break my bones because here, there may be one or two people who don’t like the mere fact that I am a human being, they just don’t like the fact that I have a name Lubinda, they just don’t like it. And if they hear that Mr Chanda was saying ‘kill him’ then they’ll say ‘so it’s not only me who doesn’t like this fellow? There’s another one who doesn’t like him, you’re creating a trend and I don’t think that a journalist should be paid for being a purveyor or hate, no. So the short of it is that I will not comment on that, do your investigations, join the police to investigate and inform the people.”

And when asked how he saw 2021 given what had happened to him, Lubinda said President Lungu would win, without question.

“It is my fevent belief that after the elections of 2021, Zambia will become even more united than it was after the 2016 elections. Why do I say this? Over the last seven years, well it will be seven then, that President Lungu has been in government, more and more people on a daily basis are being convinced that he is the right person to be at he helm of government in Zambia. More and more people by 2021 will give a vote for President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and the Patriotic Front. I don’t really believe there will be any good reason why anyone will petition the elections in 2021. The good works of Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his government are speaking for themselves and in 2021, the people of Zambia will go to attest to the fact that they are satisfied with what President Lungu has given them and give him a renewed mandate. That’s how I see 2021,” he said.

“Even some of those who are creating acrimony now, towards 2021, they will realise there’s nothing in it for them. However, let me not bury my head in the sand. I realize that there are some people who are hell bent to cause trouble, to cause anarchy as we go towards 2021. This is the reason why we in government decided that now, early enough, before 2021, let’s allow people to look at the Electoral Processes Act and look at the Constitution so that they have nothing to blame. How dead is Kabwata to me, very very dear, extremely dear. And Kabwata shall continue to be dear to me for the rest of my life…for the people of Zambia to have given me a mandate four times in a roll, how else can I pay them? I cannot manage to repay them, the honour that they continue to bestal on me. So they shall remain dear irrespective of the station of life that I occupy.”

Meanwhile, Lubinda said it was dangerous for people to claim that certain individuals were trying to use the constitution to destroy the country.

“I hope that you’ll carry my passionate appeal. An appeal that I am making on my personal behalf because I have been named, but also an appeal I am making on behalf of the government of Zambia, an appeal I am making on behalf of the people who gathered at Mulungushi. Please, let’s save them the trouble of feeling they are being haunted because some of the statements that are being made are scary. For people to be told that particular individuals are trying to use the constitution to destroy the country is dangerous for us,” said Lubinda.