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Four witnesses on Wednesday told the Lusaka High Court that they were allegedly attacked by a group of men after Chongwe East MP, Anita Kamanga, handed a can of pepper spray to one of them and allegedly instructed him to use it against supporters of her rival, Sylvia Masebo.
The witnesses were testifying in Masebo’s election petition before the High Court, where they alleged that the incident occurred on July 23, 2026, while they were travelling in a Hino truck.
Aaron Mwambi, 29, a bricklayer and farmer from Kapete Ward, told the court that Kamanga emerged from a black Toyota Harrier carrying pepper spray and handed it to a man identified as Oliver.
He alleged that Kamanga instructed Oliver to spray the group so that they could “easily beat them well”.
Mwambi said Oliver sprayed them while another man, identified as Malambo, allegedly used a wooden handle to beat him on the back, leg and hand.
He told the court that the pepper spray left him unable to see and that he was later taken to Chongwe District Hospital.
“I’m still feeling unwell. My back still hurts and I’m not even able to perform conjugal duties,” Mwambi said.
During cross-examination, however, the witnesses acknowledged that according to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) campaign schedule, Kamanga was the candidate scheduled to campaign in the area on the day in question.
The witnesses denied that their encounter with Kamanga’s campaign team amounted to a confrontation between rival groups, maintaining that they were attacked by members of her campaign team.
Other witnesses, Sunday Mwanza, 26, and Leonard Banda, gave similar accounts of the alleged attack, including the use of pepper spray before they were beaten.
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