MP STEPHEN Masumba fires shots in the air at a nightclub, arrested

STEPHEN Masumba, the exuberant Mufumbwe lawmaker, showed for the umpteenth time that there is a bottom to the well from which he draws his controversial inspiration.
In a typical ‘wild wild west’ style, Mr Masumba allegedly illegally opened  fire and sent various Kitwe residents scampering for cover on New Year’s eve at a nightclub as he entered 2014.
Alert police have arrested the embattled MP and slapped him with unlawful discharge of a firearm charge but he has been granted police bond.
Trouble for Mr Masumba started on Tuesday night – News Year’s eve – when he allegedly fired shots in the air while at a nightclub as part of celebrations to mark the transition into 2014 and lit up the skies in fashion while others used conventional fireworks.
Mr Masumba has admitted firing the shots in the air but denied that the shots were fired as a show of celebration. He said he fired the shots in order to ‘scare away’ unknown people he suspected were after his life as they trailed him from Mufulira.
Copperbelt Province acting commissioner of police Joyce Kasosa has confirmed the drama in an interview.
“On Tuesday, we arrested Mr Masumba at a named nightclub in Kitwe. He must have fired two or three shots in the air and this caused alarm among members of the public who informed the police about the incident,” Ms Kasosa said.
She said police are still investigating the matter before it is handed to the court.
Police have confiscated the firearm Mr Masumba used to establish its legality.
But Mr Masumba said he only fired one shot in the air to protect his life from unknown people that were trailing him as he drove from Mufulira.
“I was in Mufulira on Tuesday where I had gone to see a sick relative who is admitted at Ronald Ross Hospital. I only left Mufulira around 22:00 hours and on my way to Kitwe, there was a white Corolla trailing my vehicle and even flashing headlamps,” he said.
Mr Masumba, who was driving a Land Rover, said the Toyota Corolla trailed him up to Kitwe and he decided to park at a crowded place.
He said the Toyota Corolla, which had no number plates, blocked his vehicle and two ‘thugs’ emerged and advanced towards him and this forced him to draw his gun and fire in the air.
Mr Masumba said it was then that some police officers apprehended him and took him to the police station where he gave a report of the whole episode.
He admitted police having confiscated his gun.
Asked whether he was at a nightclub, Mr Masumba said he was not familiar with Kitwe and, therefore, he could not identify most of the places and whether they were pubs or not.
He said the two men that were trailing him ran away and he suspects they were either after his life or the vehicle which he claimed is so far the only one of its type in Zambia.
Mr Masumba is not a stranger to controversy having recently been convicted of tampering with a college diploma and stealing headlines for his remarkable dancing skills that often found themselves on newspaper front pages.
His parliamentary seat currently hangs in the balance as he battles with the courts so that he can stay out of jail before adding to the New Year’s Eve  gun ‘fireworks’ incident.

Daily Mail