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Pambashe Constituency in Luapula Province is bracing for a by-election following the sentencing of Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament, Ronald Chitotela, to 10 years imprisonment with hard labor for arson.
The ruling was upheld by Kabwe High Court resident Judge Irene Mbewe, who supported the conviction handed down by the Kawambwa Magistrates’ Court.
Chitotela, a former Cabinet minister, was found guilty alongside his co-accused, Davies Kaniki and Kunda Chitotela.
The conviction arose from incidents that occurred during the heated August 2021 general elections.
Read More: Former MPs Chilangwa, Chitotela to appeal convictions and sentences
In a dramatic trial presided over by Magistrate Martin Namushi, Chitotela and six others, including former Kawambwa MP, Nickson Chilangwa, faced multiple charges, including arson, threatening violence, malicious damage to property, and assault.
While Chitotela was acquitted of charges of threatening violence and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, the arson conviction sealed his political fate.
Chilangwa, meanwhile, was found guilty of malicious damage and sentenced to five years imprisonment, adding to the fallout from the tumultuous elections that have left the PF reeling.
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