The rightful candidate who should now have been the United Party for National Development – UPND member of parliament – MP for Chingola in place of the current MP and Trade Minister Chipoka Mulenga has sued the state claiming various damages, costs and interest.
Donald Chishika in a statement of claim seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT stated that he was the aspiring candidate for member of parliament for Chingola Constituency but ended up not being adopted because the party [UPND] feared to adopt a candidate who was appearing for a criminal offense, despite being political in nature.
A check by ZBT on who eventually got adopted and subsequently scoped the seat shows that Trade Minister and current Chingola MP Chipoka Mulenga, a situation that has made the rightful candidate miss out on his lifetime opportunity which he may not be able to get for the rest of his life.
Chishika who is being represented by Robson Malipenga & Co legal firm, stated that he was arrested on 24 October 2019 and detained upto 28 October 2019 as a UPND member after they attempted to attend Independence celebrations on the invitation of the district commissioner.
He stated that he was kept in prison for three days and released on bail. The trial resumed and he continued to appear before court until 17 December 2021 when they were acquitted. This is after the change of government on 12 August 2021, by which time he lost out on the opportunity of being a candidate for Chingola.
Chishika is now seeking for damages for false imprisonment, damages for malicious prosecution and mental torture, interest snd costs. No specific claim amounts have been indicated in the statement of claim.
The Zambian government is facing a lot of claims for damages for ‘political’ cases after the change of government from Patriotic Front – PF to UPND. The total number of cases and amounts to be paid out to all the various cases that have been initiated across the country is yet to be ascertained.
