By ADRIAN MWANZA
THE late National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporter involved in a fracas in Mpatamatu died of malaria and not as a result of an attack by Patriotic Front cadres led by Kabushi Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo, PF aspiring candidate Chishimba Kambwili, has said.
Mr Kambwili, who was part of the campaign trail in Mpatamatu in 2019, said the police had the evidence as a postmortem and autopsy indicated that Mr Kasongo had malaria and the fact that he was beaten or hacked by PF cadres.
He said that the police were in receipt of the findings from the autopsy and that they needed to come out in the open and tell the public what killed Kasongo.
“That issue happened in 2019 and for me what I know is that Obed died of Malaria and Liver damage due to other complications and not what is being claimed that he was hacked to death by PF members,” he said.
Mr Kambwili said it was pointless for people in the UPND to try to involve him in an issue that was already dealt with by the relevant authorities.
He said that he would not waste his time to explain anything to the police when they had the records at their disposal.
“I will not go to the police to explain things that they already know. The fact of the matter is that Mr Kasongo died of an illness and not an attack as purported by some sections of society,” he said.
Mr Kambwili said the Police under instructions from the UPND wanted to sway the people’s mindset by trying to implicate him and Kabushi MP because they were political threats.
He challenged the new dawn government to concentrate on fixing the living standards of Zambians and not trying to deal with political opponents.
Mr Kasongo and other NDC members in Roan constituency were allegedly brutally beaten by suspected PF members in the build-up to the 2019 Roan By-election.
Police have exhumed his remains to determine cause of death.
Meanwhile, UPND member of the presidential campaign team Beene Hachoombwa has requested the police to invite Mr Kambwili to help with investigations in the death of Obed Kasongo.
Mr Hachoombwa says the request follows a post made by Mr Kambwili on Facebook on May 4, 2019 alleging that he knew the people who caused the death of Mr Kasongo.
He has since urged the police command to respond to the request in due time.
