AN MMD cadre yesterday almost beat up Ndola Post reporter Abigail Chaponda for attending an MMD campaign meeting at the old ZCBC building in Kawama.

As hundreds of MMD cadres were being addressed by MMD candidate in the Chifubu by-election Frank Ng’ambi, the cadre who was in the company of Ng’ambi, former Ndola mayor Chanda Mushota and MMD Masaiti co-odinator Patrick Phiri told Chaponda to be writing the truth or else he would beat her up.

“You should make sure that you write the truth because the Post is fond of writing lies. Mwaiche, if you write lies, I will follow you and beat you up,” said the cadre as his colleagues shouted Komeni, Komeni, Komeni beat her, beat her, beat her… “Nkakuponona mwaiche ngatawakalembe ifishinka.”

Mushota and Phiri who were helping Ng’ambi in the campaigns told the cadre to be quiet and to let Chaponda do her job.

The cadre stopped accosting Chaponda and waited for the meeting to finish.

And after the meeting, the cadres followed where reporters were and greeted them but after Chaponda refused to greet him and told him to get away from her, he followed her and told her that he was going to slap her.

“I will slap you, do you know me, I will beat you up, how can you tell me to get away from you, I will kick you if you don’t know me,” he said.

Chaponda told him that he was just a cadre and should not accost her because she was doing her job.

But the cadre continued to threaten Chaponda and warned her that he was going to beat her and as he tried to advance towards her, Zambia Daily mail reporter Jerry Muthali and Times of Zambia reporter Gideon Thole held the cadre and moved him away from Chaponda.

The cadre insisted that he wanted to slap Chaponda but Chaponda ran and took refuge in the Times of Zambia vehicle in fear of being beaten.

The cadre however warned her (Chaponda) that he was going to beat her should he meet her anywhere.