KABWATA PF aspiring candidate Clement Tembo has denied assaulting a Libala ward official saying the allegations are coming from scared individuals who want to dent his image.
Libala ward seven PF vice chairperson Peter Kazembe has reported Tembo to Woodlands police for allegedly assaulting him after the former refused to endorse the former’s aspirations to contest as member of parliament for Kabwata constituency in 2021.
According to a medical report, Kazembe sustained a cut on the upper lip after being slapped and punched.
But in an interview, Tembo, who is also Presidential Empowerment Initiative Fund (PEIF) national coordinator, refuted the allegations saying it was a ploy by scared individuals to dent his image.
“I know the people that are fueling these, they are just people that are scared. I know of one or two people that feel maybe it’s an opportunity for them to aspire for Kabwata, but they are just using this poor person, apparently, they will just do this for a little while it will go on social media because they think they can dent my image and then they can ride on that,” Tembo said.
He claimed he didn’t know the said victim.
“It’s just some very false story. You know, I feel very bad, this is a person I have never even come in contact with, I don’t know him on a personal level and apparently we are trying to get down to the matter to find out exactly where he was assaulted from. The other breath he is saying, no I sent people to go and beat him because he knows that I have never come in contact with him. So I have been waiting for him to even bring me a call out or anything so that we can establish whatever it is. I would like him to prove because I am saying that I have not come in contact with him, so now he is saying I sent people to go and beat him so I want him to justify the fact that I sent people to go and beat him, from where. I feel bad because they want to capitalise on this, I have tried, some people, it’s all politics unless they emphasise that I beat him personally, I will say okay where did that incident happen from?” Tembo said.
He however wondered why such allegations were being leveled against him when he could not assault anyone, especially not an individual who had no influence on his adoption.
“Why would I go, imagine a ward official who is a secretary or whatever in terms of making a decision of my adoption, he doesn’t even sit on the panel of the people that make decisions for adoptions and moreover do you think everyone will say they want you, no, there are people who want other candidates, do you think I will manage to go and beat everyone. They have put up a ka flimsy story ati because he refused to support me, was there a contest where they said let people parade themselves and declare who they support. So I think God will fight my battle. There are laws in this nation, if he wants he can go to the police and later go to court and they will be able to prove. There are things that I can do and things that I cannot do, that is far away from me,” said Tembo.
