THERE’s no way a minister can go and sit in Shoprite and tell people not to buy two or three bags of mealie meal, then he has nothing to do and can only be described as a fool, says NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili.

On Saturday, Lusambo ordered for the arrest of some youths who were buying mealie meal in bulk on behalf of some shop owners in compounds.

The juveniles were picked up by Police at Megasave Shoprite on Kafue road and SOS Shoprite.

In a writeup posted on his Facebook page, Lusambo stated that the shortage of mealie meal was artificially induced by criminal elements bent on tarnishing the good name of President Edgar Lungu.

He added that he would not sit with folded arms and watch the President’s name be tarnished by greedy business people.

But speaking to journalists at the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court, Tuesday, Kambwili said Lusambo was misbehaving, adding that the country had stooped so low to allow a minister to harass people in shops.

“Certainly Bowman is misbehaving. We have stooped so low as a country to allow a minister to go and harass people in shops. We have the police, council police, in fact, it’s not even a question of Zambia Police. Selling of mealie meal is an issue of trading licences. Trading licences are monitored by the municipal councils and the city councils. There is no way that we can have the whole minister going to sit in Shoprite telling people not to buy two or three bags of mealie meal. Then that minister has nothing to do and that minister can only be described as a fool. And I think Lusambo is a biggest fool this country has ever seen,” said Kambwili.

“To illustrate that Bowman is a fool, he doesn’t even know he is just a provincial minister, not a Cabinet minister. When he was appearing on the morning show at Muvi Television, he said he belonged to a Cabinet of President Edgar Lungu. He is not a Cabinet minister, he doesn’t even belong to the Cabinet. Which law is he using to say he is a Cabinet minister? Provincial ministers are not Cabinet ministers. So that is the problem of dealing with ignorant people in positions of minister. So he must know that he is not a Cabinet minister. The law does not define him as such, only a provincial minister.”