The damages that Chishimba Kambwili has caused on my character cannot be adequately compensated through an award or any monetary compensation, PF Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri told the Lusaka High Court.

And Mumbi says unless the Court restrains Kambwili from uttering further defamatory remarks against her, she will continue to suffer injuries to her reputation.

This is the matter in which Mumbi sued Kambwili demanding K100 million as special damages for defamation of character for alleging that she’s corrupt and built her house using bribes from the Chinese and Lebanese that get contracts from government.

Kambwili, however, denied defaming Mumbi and demanded K100 million as exemplary damages in his counterclaim for libel against the latter.

He had also strongly objected to Mumbi’s application for interlocutory injunction against him, saying it was not necessary to restrain him from further issuing statements in relation to the matter because Mumbi would not suffer any irreparable damage or injury.

Kambwili further said it was not necessary for the Court to restrain him because Mumbi also defamed him.

He said the words Mumbi complained of were not false and, therefore, a fair comment.

But in her reply filed on February 28, Mumbi opposed to Kambwili’s defence on the premise that the words complained of could not be said to be a fair comment regarding her character in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.

She stated that the damages that Kambwili had caused on her character could not match any monetary compensation.

“The assassination of my character through the issuance of defamatory statements by the defendant against me cannot be adequately compensated through an award of damages. If anything, the value of my character cannot match any monetary compensation that I may receive in this case and I am advised by counsel that it is widely accepted by the Court that good reputation should always be protected through injunctive relief,” argued Mumbi.

Mumbi stated that she was entitled to injunctive reliefs because Kambwili had already admitted publishing the alleged defamatory statements against her and had shown the propensity to continue with the publications based on his assumption that he was making a fair comment against her character.

She added that it was in the best interest of justice for her to be granted injunctive relief in the matter, otherwise she would suffer irreparable injury to her good reputation.