LUSAKA MAN IN COURT FOR ASSAULTING MILES ON POLL DAY

By CHARLES MUSONDA A MAN has appeared in the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court for allegedly wounding then Patriotic Front (PF) Matero constituency par- liamentary candidate Miles Sampa and two others. In this case, Bulden Shaloba Namainga, a 45-year-old businessman of Lusaka’s Kanyama com- pound, is charged with three counts of unlawful wounding and one count of possessing offensive weap- ons on August 12, 2021, the day Zambians voted in the general elections that ushered in United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema in State House to take over from his main rival Edgar Lungu of the PF. In the first count, partic- ulars of the offence are that on the material date, Shalo- ba, with other unknown persons possessed a pis- tol, a machete, and an axe without lawful authority. In the second count it is alleged that the accused person unlawfully wound- ed Kelvin Phiri. In count three particulars of the of- fence are that Shaloba un- lawfully wounded Gilbert Banda. Both victims had ac- companied Mr. Sampa to a polling station in George compound where he and his entourage were accused of trying to interfere with the electoral process on the voting day. In the fourth count, Shaloba is charged with unlawfully wounding Mr. Sampa without lawful au- thority. When Shaloba appeared before Lusaka Magistrate Sanford Ngobola yester- day, he denied the second, third, and fourth counts.