Chiluba sues HH for defamation
Chiluba sues HH for defamationBy Inonge Noyoo
Thursday June 07, 2007 [04:00]
FORMER president Fredrick Chiluba has sued UPND president Hakainde Hichilema for defamation claiming K20 billion damages. Chiluba has claimed that Hichilema's sole motive when he likened his tenure of office to a monkey in charge of maize field was to tarnish his reputation and integrity and to destroy his legacy. But Post editor Fred M'membe has defended Hichilema's statement as a correct description of Chiluba's presidency.
"It's ridiculous for Chiluba to claim that Hakainde's motive was to tarnish Chiluba's reputation and integrity and to destroy his legacy. What reputation can Chiluba talk about? The reputation of banditry and looting of public coffers to buy suits and high-heeled shoes from European boutiques! What integrity can Chiluba talk about? Is there integrity in stealing public funds?
And what legacy of Chiluba can one destroy? The legacy of corruption cannot be destroyed by anyone saying Chiluba is a thief; that would only be destroyed if Hakainde had said Chiluba was an honest man, and he didn't steal public funds. In that way Chiluba's legacy would be destroyed," M'membe said.
He urged Chiluba to join The Post to the suit. "It is The Post who published the story and not Hakainde. Let him join us to the suit or even sue us alone and leave Hakainde in peace. We are ready to face Chiluba in any court and prove once again that this man is a thief whose behaviour is that of a monkey given to be in charge of a maize field or a rat put in charge of groundnuts. We are ready to receive his writs and statements of claim.
The billions of kwacha he is demanding from Hakainde he won't get them. If he has squandered the US $41 million he took from public funds he will have problems finding money to pay the London High Court judgment sum. He won't be able to get such amounts of money from fraudulent libel suits," said M'membe.
According to the statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court by his lawyer Simeza Sangwa and Associates on Tuesday, Chiluba stated that on unknown dates but between the 10th and the 18th of May 2007, Hichilema spoke, uttered and published the words extensively quoted on the front page of The Post Newspaper dated May 18, 2007 under the headline 'Hichilema likens Chiluba to a Monkey'.
Chiluba claimed that Hichilema falsely and maliciously caused to be published of him and of his reign defamatory words. "The defendant falsely and maliciously caused to be published of the plaintiff and of office of his reign of the following defamatory words; ' It is horrifying to see the extent of thieving by those tasked with responsibility to look after affairs of the nation ...what we have seen is the person at the top is the one in the forefront of looting the treasury. It is disgraceful. It is shameful that Chiluba even had the audacity to say he did nothing wrong, it is not correct for people to allow the treasury to be ransacked.
And he even has the audacity to say there is nothing wrong," Chiluba stated. "And Hichilema likened the Chiluba term of office as president to having a monkey in charge of a maize field. How can you make a monkey to be a captain of a maize field? You know that a monkey eats maize. So what do you expect?" Chiluba claimed that on or about May 29, 2007 Hichilema again spoke and published through The Post Newspapers an article on Page 4 of issue No 3876 of Tuesday May 29, 2007 under the heading 'I'm ready to meet Chiluba in court -HH'.
Chiluba stated that the following excerpt from the said article was defamatory; 'the courts are there if he wants he can go to court. Compensation! My comments about the monkey are in regards to the actions that he committed, what happens to thieves? If you steal do you expect us to glorify you? The question of compensation does not arise.
The money that was stolen could have been used to improve our hospitals and schools'. Chiluba contended that the said words in their natural and ordinary meaning meant and were understood to mean that he was a thief. Chiluba argued that the published articles also meant that he was, and was even before being elected as Republican president, a common thief who could therefore not be entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the nation's treasury. Chiluba claimed that the said words meant that he was guilty of theft of public funds and that he was not a fit and proper person to have held office as Republican president for 10 years.
Chiluba argued that the said words meant that he behaved like a monkey and that Zambians must have been foolish to elect a monkey into public office and that he was mean and greedy and his term of office was characterised by theft of public resources. He averred that the statements meant that he was unpatriotic, lacked integrity and that the publication was exceedingly defamatory and injurious to his personal capacity and character.
Chiluba claimed that Hichilema caused the said words to be published maliciously or alternatively was reckless and intended to injure him in his personal character. He asserted that by reason of the publication of the said words, he had been seriously injured in his character, credit and reputation and had been brought into public scandal, odium and contempt.
Particulars of Chiluba's claim of aggravated exemplary damages were that Hichilema's attacks on him were unprovoked. He claimed that the publications of the defamatory words were done in a sensational manner. Chiluba contended that Hichilema knew or ought to have known that he had never been convicted of theft of public funds by any court of competent jurisdiction. He stated that Hichilema caused the said words to be published in the knowledge that they were libellous or with a reckless disregard as to whether or not they were libellous.
Chiluba claimed that Hichilema caused the words to be published with a view of establishing the prospect of material advantage of himself as a more credible and deserving candidate to be considered as president of Zambia in future.
Chiluba contended that Hichilema, notwithstanding the demand for an apology from him, did not show any remorse for his reckless statement but instead went to the press and became even more arrogant, vulgar and repeatedly calling him a monkey and a thief. Chiluba claimed that Hichilema further asserted that the allegations made by him were true and that he would meet the plaintiff in court if he so desired.
He claimed that he did not deserve the unwarranted attacks and therefore prayed that he may be awarded exemplary or aggravated damages in the sum of K20 billion and interest on the sums found due to current commercial bank lending rates.
Chiluba is praying that the court grants him an injunction restraining Hichilema, whether by himself, his servants or agents or otherwise from publishing or causing to be published the said or any other similar words defamatory of him and costs.
Labels: CHILUBA, COURTS, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA
posted by MrK @ 5:39 AM
1 Comments:
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" -Shakespeare
This legal assault on metaphor and simile, in the unlikely event that it should succeed, would serve no purpose other than to remove humour from politics and political journalism. What a sad day that would be! Shall we burn all the satirical books written by the historical paragons of dissent, such as Swift's A Modest Proposal and Gulliver's Travels? Chiluba has the opportunity to refute the official charges of theft and corruption against him in (very) public court, why such histrionics over a simple statement of opinion? I think that the Bard got it right when he wrote,
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
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