THE Patriotic Front says Chishimba Kambwili does not own patents to insults in Zambia and neither is he licensed to insult and degrade others at will without facing consequences. And the PF says the Roan member of parliament and former information minister deserves more sympathy than anger. Kambwili on Tuesday told Speaker of the National Assembly that Copperbelt minister Bowman Lusambo slapped him twice and that lands minister Jean Kapata soon after poured water on him.

In reaction, PF secretary general Davies Mwila issued a statement and said Kambwili would keep receiving beatings from ruling party members if he continued insulting and disparaging others. And this evening, the ruling party issued another statement justifying the earlier remark that beating Kambwili was a direct consequence of his ‘actions’.

“Clearly, Hon Kambwili does not own patents to insults in this country and neither is he licenced to insult and degrade people at will without facing consequences, sometimes undesirable, from those who may find themselves as victims of his mouth. Clearly, he his tongue has wagged its way to a self-destruct button,” PF media director Sunday Chanda stated in a statement.

“A clear case in point are the insults he showered on an innocent and married woman he calls a friend, the deputy secretary general Mrs. Mumbi Phiri. If the nation heard that following his unwarranted attacks, he had been beaten by Mrs. Phiri’s family, any reasonable mind would conclude that indeed he had asked for it. He must therefore be grateful that the Phiris are a civilized family that refused to be dragged into pettiness. Deputy secretary general’s unexpected cool response must have made him lose grip and the wheels came off, hence the apology we were greeted to.”

He stated that Mwila had reminded Kambwili that it was possible to engage in political differences without becoming personally disagreeable.

“He was reminding him that politics was about issues and not tissues…We continue to urge the membership and public to exercise restraint under maximum provocation as they deal [with] and tolerate the Roan Parliamentarian’s tantrums inside and outside the august house. He must be going through a lot and therefore deserves more sympathy than anger,” stated Chanda.