The chairperson of Lumezi Town Council has spent the weekend in police custody. Dawson Tembo, who holds the post for the NRPUP, was detained on Friday 23 October on allegations of trespass and malicious damage to property, Eastern Province's police chief, Robertson Mweemba, confirmed in an interview on Saturday reported by News Diggers. The Zambian Observer carried a Zambia Reports account of the same detention.
The complaint was lodged at Lumezi Police Post on Monday 19 October by a 20-year-old woman from Kapilitiwa village under Chief Zumwanda, who alleged that Tembo had trespassed at her house and damaged the door. Lusaka Brief is not naming her. According to Mweemba, Tembo went into hiding after the complaint and was apprehended four days later; News Diggers quoted him as saying the chairperson was picked up on 23 October after being enticed. The Zambian Observer gave Tembo's age as 56 and his home as Mpeta village in Lumezi District.
A new office-holder
Tembo is a recent arrival in local government. News Diggers reported that he was sworn in as NRPUP council chairperson for Lumezi Town Council on 10 September, after the August general election. The Zambian Observer expands the party's initials as the New Revolution Party United Progressive.
Police told the Zambian Observer that Tembo is expected to appear in court. Neither outlet reported what led to the alleged confrontation, and the Observer's report noted explicitly that the allegations have yet to be tested in court. Nothing in the pages read records a response from Tembo himself, his lawyers or the NRPUP, and nothing suggests that he has yet been charged before a magistrate.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: That Dawson Tembo, Lumezi Town Council chairperson, was detained by police on Friday 23 October on allegations of trespass and malicious damage to property following a complaint lodged on 19 October is reported by News Diggers and the Zambian Observer, both citing Eastern Province police chief Robertson Mweemba.
Alleged or unverified: The allegations are untested in court. The two outlets give Mweemba's title differently, as commanding officer and as commissioner. No charge sheet, court date, or statement from Tembo or the NRPUP had been reported by Sunday 25 October.
Sources: News Diggers, “Police nab Lumezi Council Chairperson for malicious damage” (25 Oct 2026); Zambian Observer, “Police detain NRPUP council chairperson over damaged house door” (24 Oct 2026).