I Was Recovering From TB, I Could Not Have Assaulted The Minister Of Justice.
A 35-year-old man of Lusaka accused of assaulting Kabwata member of parliament Given Lubinda has denied the offence, arguing that he was recovering from tuberculosis and could barely walk at the time he is alleged to have assaulted the Minister of Justice.
Mr. Martin Mambwe , 35, a driver of Kalingalinga township, was found with a case to answer in the assault case by Lusaka chief resident magistrate Lameck Mwale who placed him on his defence.
Opening his defence, Mambwe said he was recovering from tuberculosis (TB) at the time he was accused of assaulting Mr. Lubinda and that his legs were still swollen.
He said he was roughly apprehended from Kamwala where he had gone to seek help from a friend and taken to Kabwata police station by about six men he did not know and was accused of assaulting Mr. Lubinda.
Mr. Mambwe said Mr. Lubinda was the first one to identify him as the person who assaulted him followed by his body guard. Allegations are that Mambwe on July 12, 2019 assaulted Mr. Lubinda.
Mr. Mambwe and four others – Patrick Mubanga, 40, Major Chansa, 35, Moses Mulenga, 33 and Goodson Mwale, 45 – were also jointly charged for proposing violence to Lubinda, but they were all acquitted of the charge.
Mr. Mambwe was, however, found with a case to answer for assaulting Mr. Lubinda on the same date. But he denied the charge, as his wife Christine Mwewa Jipi and friend Alex Simbi aided his defence by telling the court that the accused was not in Kabwata at the time the alleged offence was committed.
Judgment has been set for June 12, 2020.