Lubinda rejects Times of Zambia apology

Lubinda rejects Times of Zambia apology
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 09 Nov. 2012, 14:00 CAT

FOREIGN affairs minister Given Lubinda has refused to accept an apology from the state-owned Times of Zambia over the stories the newspaper carried, prior to last year's elections, in which the paper alleged that he and President Michael Sata had received money from Afghanistan and Taiwan for the PF's campaigns.

In yesterday's edition, the Times of Zambia carried an apology referring to its editions of July 6, 2011 and July 7, 2011 under the banner headlines respectively, 'PF gets Afghan, Taiwanese cash for Lusaka land' and 'Sata condemned over US$45 million Taiwan funding' and quoting online blogs.

In the stories, the Times of Zambia under MMD's Rupiah Banda and in a bid to vilify President Sata who was opposition leader then, claimed that the PF had received US$45 million from its sympathisers in Taiwan and Afghanistan towards the 2011 presidential and general elections and that US$300,000 was to be spent in each constituency.

Most media organisations under Banda's regime carried a lot of one-sided libelous stories against members of the opposition and some of them are battling with court cases because of their carelessness.

The newspaper further stated that a cross section of people in Lusaka had condemned President Sata's plan to offer land in Lusaka to Taiwanese sympathisers in exchange for US$45 million to be used in the 2011 election campaigns.

However, according to the apology, the Times of Zambia said it was now satisfied that the above statements were wholly unfounded and desired to express regret to the PF and in particular President Sata and Lubinda and to unreservedly apologise to them and any other third parties for any embarrassment and inconvenience which the said articles may have caused.

The newspaper further withdrew the said articles accordingly and the matter is before the courts following Lubinda's action to sue the paper.
But when reached for a comment over the same, Lubinda said he would not accept the apology and the manner in which it had been written.

"Anyone who reads the apology will wonder why my name is being brought into the apology. It does not state how I was personally injured in the first place. All it says is that the Times of Zambia is now satisfied that the above statement was wholly unfounded and desires to express regret to the PF in particular President Michael Sata and Kabwata member of parliament," Lubinda said.
He said the apology did not state how he was part of the story and why the newspaper was apologising to him.

He said the apology fell short of the requirement of any genuine apology and that his lawyers would be responding to the Times of Zambia.
"It is also mischievous in my view for the Times of Zambia to say that they were now satisfied that the above statement were unfounded.

I am sure at the time that they were writing the story, they were convinced. They must state exactly the circumstances that have led to them being satisfied, what has changed? Did they carry out investigations? They must not make it appear as though at the time of writing that story, there was any reason on which to write it," he said.