While the assault on Tutwa Ngulube was confirmed, there is no evidence of him tempering with the ballot papers

Rating Justification

The fact-checking process has determined the claim that Tutwa Ngulube was beaten by Kabwe residents for trying to temper with ballot papers at the Civic Centre in Kabwe as inconclusive. Although reports seem to indicate Mr. Ngulube was indeed victim of an assault, there is no evidence of him tempering with ballot papers, nor that he was present at the Civic Center at the time of the assault. The iVerify team was however able to conclude that the assault did not happen at Civic Center but rather in Kafulamase area which is three kilometers away from Kabwe civic Centre. The iVerify team contacted the Central Police Commissioner Mr. Katanga on 12th August 2021 and according to him, Kabwe Central Province Parliamentary Candidate Mr Ngulube, filed a report to the Police claiming that he was assaulted by suspected UPND cadres. “When he came to file in a report, his face and arm was bruised. They are suspected UPND cadres and the Police is still investigating.” said Mr Katanga. The Central Province Police Commissioner also stated that the Police have to date not received any report claiming that Tutwa Ngulube was found at the Civic Center with ballot papers, neither did they receive any report of ballots that had been tempered with at the Civic Center. Therefore, based on this information, the iVerify team neither conclude the claim by Zambian Watchdog as false or true and rates it as inconclusive.