Economic and Equity Party (EPP) president Chilufya Tayali says he wants to change his kind of politics so that he can be less controversial and provocative.

Meanwhile, the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court has acquitted Tayali of contempt of court and defamation charges leveled against him after he reconciled with the complainant in the matter.

In this matter, Tayali was facing seven counts of contempt of court and publishing defamatory statements against Edward Sichali, a Lusaka citizen.

He was alleged to have accused Sichali of being sponsored by UPND president Hakainde Hichilema to hold a protest at the University of Zambia which saw the death of a fourth year UNZA student Vespers Shimuzhila last year.

Tayali had pleaded not guilty to the charges in November last year but trial had not yet commenced.

In April this year, Sichali and Tayali started reconciliation process in a matter.

And when the matter came up before Lusaka Magistrate Sylvia Munyinya, Monday, Tayali was acquitted on all the charges and set at liberty.

Speaking to journalists after the court session, Tayali said he was grateful to Sichali and Hichilema.

He said he wanted to take a different approach in politics.

“I’m grateful to Edward and Hakainde Hichilema. As you can remember, I had so many cases around here and I think this is the last case that I had against other people. There should be a change in the way that I do politics and in the way that I interact with other politicians. I am taking a humble position. Where we are coming from, I was more controversial and sometimes very provocative, I want to change that kind of politics. At some point, I did apologise to all those I felt aggrieved by whatever I could have said,” Tayali said.

He however insisted that he would continue speaking against cases of corruption, adding that he would not apologise for taking on people involved in the act.

“Going forward, I will try to do things differently. But I want to insist, because others will take this in a wrong way, I am not going to compromise when it comes to wrong things, especially corruption cases. If people are corrupt, if people are doing something wrong I will not shy away from speaking, I will speak. Especially on these issues of corruption that are currently going on, I will not apologise,” said Tayali.

“I will not apologise for taking on those people that are involved in corruption. So let no one be fooled. Because tomorrow when I will say something, you will say ‘no but you said…’ no. I’m not saying that the monkeys should dance around, climb the trees, do wrong things and engage in corruption, that I will not stop.”