Police detain NRPUP Lumezi Council Chairperson Dawson Tembo over alleged trespass and damage to a villager's door

Eastern Province Commanding Officer Robertson Mweemba has confirmed the detention of Lumezi Council Chairperson Dawson Tembo over alleged trespass and malicious damage to property. Mr Mweemba said the case follows a complaint made on 19 October by Delia Nyirenda, 20, of Kapilitiwa Village in the area of Chief Zumwanda. She reported that Mr Tembo entered her house without permission and damaged the door. Speaking in an interview on Saturday 24 October, Mr Mweemba said Mr Tembo had been in hiding and was apprehended on 23 October after being "enticed". "He was detained yesterday," he said, referring to Friday. Mr Tembo was sworn in on 10 September as the council chairperson for Lumezi Town Council on the ticket of the NRPUP, the party of Brian Mundubile, who finished second to President Hichilema in the 13 August presidential election. Lumezi is a district in Eastern Province. Mr Tembo has not been convicted of any offence, and the allegations against him are those in the complaint. ## Why it matters A council chairperson leads the elected councillors of a district, so a detention of this kind touches local government as well as policing. The complaint itself came from a young woman in a village, a reminder that the police act on reports from ordinary residents and that those reports can involve elected leaders. How the matter is handled will be watched in Lumezi, where the chairperson was sworn in only six weeks ago. ## What happens next Under Zambian law a person who is arrested must be brought before a court without delay. The police had not announced a court date at the time of writing, and Mr Tembo's own account had not been reported. Source: News Diggers, 25 October 2026, 08:00 (Africa/Lusaka). Link: <https://diggers.news/local/2026/10/25/police-nab-lumezi-council-chairperson-for-malicious-damage/>