AS the country’s cases of sexual assault on children continue to rise, Kabwata Police Station are holding a 54 year old mechanic of Kamwala South who for five years has been repeatedly defiled a 12 year old girl.
The mechanic identified as John Tembo managed to keep his demonic sexual crimes under wraps because he had threatened the young girl that should she tell anyone, he would kill both her and her mother.
And so it was that, for years, Tembo maintained squeak clean a reputation as a skilled motor mechanic of the neighbourhood until three days ago.
According to police sources, Tembo started defiling the child when she was 7 years old and the abuse had been going on until she turned 12 when the truth came crawling on his door.
It is reported that this Tembo used threats, manipulation and money to keep the child silent.
He allegedly also told the girl that children who are abused don’t tell anyone and if she dared speak up, he would cut off the small amounts of money he regularly gave her.
Despite presenting himself as a respectable mechanic in the community, Tembo was allegedly hiding a dark and horrific secret one that only came to light when the girl’s mother noticed signs of distress.
It all began to unravel when the girl returned home limping one day.
When the mother asked why she was walking awkwardly, the girl claimed she had a sore on her leg.
But suspicions deepened on the evening of April 14, when the mother spotted her daughter wearing a mechanic’s work suit on her way home.
The mother pressed the minor for answers of which the girl initially lied, saying she had visited a friend who gave her the work suit.
But after further questioning, she broke down and revealed the painful truth that Tembo, the neighborhood mechanic who lost his wife a year ago had been sexually abusing her for the same duration it takes to obtain an engineering degree at the University of Zambia.
She also disclosed that the money she often had was coming from the same man who had stolen her innocence and manipulated her into silence.
The girl had been going to his house even before the death of his wife last year to often help with house chores.
Following the shocking revelation, the mother immediately reported the matter to Kabwata Police Station.
Tembo has since been arrested and charged with defilement and police investigations are ongoing.
As he he waits court appearance, it is reported that Danny Kaya’s hit “Uyu Joni ndipo niopusa” is constantly playing in John Tembo’s head.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, April 17, 2025
