PAUL TEMBO WAS ASSASSINATED IN A BID TO SHIELD FTJs CORRUPTION -Mr. Tembo was shot and killed around 03 a.m. at his Lusaka residence; in the presence of his wife and children, the day he was supposed to testify to a tribunal in a corruption case against three government ministers.
At the very end of Kaunda’s one-party state, in the 1991 general elections, Paul Tembo was elected as Member of Parliament for Kabwe constituency (now Kabwe Central constituency) on the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) ticket. Later, in 1992 president Fredrick Chiluba appointed him as Deputy Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry. Though after a few months; he was replaced by Shiabyungwe Shengamo.
Politics being politics, President Fredrick to keep Paul; in 1993 he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Finance. Within the same year, Hon. Paul Tembo was moved to the President’s Office where he was appointed as Deputy Minister.
Fast-forward.
The 1996 general elections brought internal party conflict during adoptions.
Regardless, the end result was Tembo’s re-adoption as MMD’s candidate for Kabwe Central constituency. This forced Austin Chewe to contest as an independent candidate, and with the support from local activists; Paul Tembo was beaten by Austin in that election.
Aside from parliamentary elections, Paul Tembo headed Chiluba’s re-election campaign in 1996 and spearheaded his botched bid that year, which sought an unconstitutional third five-year term in office (CNN, July 7, 2001).
So, after losing as Member of Parliament for Kabwe Central, Tembo contested an election for the position of MMD Vice-President and won.
But, after a recount, he ended up losing by a vote.
Losing the Kabwe Central parliamentary election and a subsequent election for the Vice President position; Tembo decided to resign from MMD, joining the opposition Forum for Democracy and Development party (FDD).
The story gets even more interesting here.
On Friday, 6 July, 2001 Mr. Tembo was set to appear before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which was investigating allegations that Finance Minister Katele Kalumba, Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa and Works and Supply Minister Godden Mandandi illegally used $625,000 (K2 billion, unrebased) of state money to finance a ruling party convention which was held in Kabwe on 27th April to 2nd May, 2001 (Associated Press, 2001).
The same day, on Friday 6th July, around 03hrs; Paul Tembo was was gunned down.
“There were two intruders. They lured Paul out and then forced him back into the house, into his bedroom… They made him lie facing the mattress and then they shot him at point blank.” Family spokesman, Dick Mpheneka described how Tembo was killed within sight of his wife and children (CNN, July 7, 2001).
According to Mutembo Nchito, Paul Tembo’s lawyer: Paul Tembo’s evidence, could have implicated senior government officials including president Chiluba.
“One reason why Paul may have been killed was the evidence he was due to give at the corruption tribunal. Paul was likely to implicate the president in the diversion and misuse of public resources,” Mutembo Nchito told Reuters.
Paul Tembo was not the first politician to have been killed during Chiluba’s regime. In 1998 former Finance Minister Ronald Penza was murdered shortly after being fired by Chiluba, while a year later President Kenneth Kaunda’s son and political heir Wezi, a strong Chiluba opponent, was also murdered (CNN, July 7, 2001).
This death received a lot of reactions from different people , particularly, opposition leaders.
“I would not be surprised to learn that Paul Tembo’s information would have linked people in government to corruption and they decided to eliminate him. This is a pattern of attack to scare us into submission. This is state sponsored crime.” Lt. Gen. Christon Tembo, then leader of the oppositionparty, Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), said a day after Paul Tembo’s death (CNN, 2001).
“The opposition will need to work closer and create a strong force during elections because the only solution to our current problems is to get Chiluba out of office,” Anderson Mazoka, then leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND), told Reuters.
Every government has it’s own modus operandi it uses to silence those who expose it’s corruption. During Chiluba’s regime, there were a number of politically motivated assassinations. Another good example of politically motivated assassinations is that of a prominent lawyer: Richard Ngenda, the only lawyer who died whilst fighting corruption.
Currently, how do you rate the UPND’s fight against corruption? Is it through firings/incarcerations? Or, is it through transferring of the alleged corrupt Minister’s from one Ministry to another? Is there currently a zero-tolerance approach to corruption?
Copyright ©️ Shipungu 2025
A lot of unsubstantiated comments. You have openly pointed to specific individuals as having been alleged to have committed crimes without providing any proof first. Just assumptions and character assassinations.
I think such type of writing deserve a follow up from the appropriate authorities so that the individuals publicly accused can defend themselves. You just can not make such alarming statements and expect people to take this laying down.
This is dangerous reporting and should not be allowed to happen by any credible media house. Professional conduct demands that investigative journalism must be adhered to where the reporter needs to relay on facts and not assumptions.
For now these writing has even taken the place of a full police investigation and placed upon it self to make very alarming statements that our past departed President FTJ and his ministers where behind the assassination of not only one but several deaths.
Such careless reporting is dangerous and very alarming. This is not good. someone needs to answer for this carelessness.
@ Mate
You are hurt because of the naming of suspects.. While the majority want to know why Tembo and others were killed. Remember that Mwanawasha resigned from the Chipuba administration sitting corruption and misuse of govt monies.
Not really. They are not in any way connected with me. Secondly I am not even emotionally inclined on this one. It is just careless to use social media to settle scores of ones imaginations or believes without any evidence. Remember we have courts who try to be very fair in highlighting evidence.
It is not a matter of emotions. Playing around with peoples emotions is dangerous and unwarranted.
The best would be to revisit the court of law with this important case with evidence and not cast upon all of us assumptions. It is simply not right.
I wonder what more proof one would need, Kalumba was in jail, Minister of health was also in trouble too, stela I guess she’s still in jail, chiluba’s, corrupt, nasty cruel regime
The other notable figure who was assassinated during Chiluba era was Baldwin Nkumbula. Although Chiluba was showing as a charismatic Christian declaring Zambia a Christian Nation, he died with his hands soiled with peoples’ blood, leave alone grabbing someone’s wife.
Paul Tembo was stupid. You do not report corruption to the corrupt and when they’re still in power. Corruption is reported in confidence so that the corrupt do not get alerted.
Conspiracy theories abound just to make stories interesting but fact is tembo was killed by thieves who came into his yard to steal but where confronted by the late so in the scuffle he got shot.