A HEALTH inspector at the Lusaka City Council (LCC) has testified that the Legana sausage that was tested was not found to have any foreign matter as results revealed that it was food casing instead.

This is a matter in which Luyando Kopakopa, a clinical medicine student at Apex University, and her partner Eric Ng’andu, a police reserve, are charged with one count of libel.

It is alleged that Kopakopa and Ng’andu, between August 3, 2019, and August 20, 2019, whilst acting together and with intent to defame Legana Investment Limited, unlawfully published defamatory matter against the said company by alleging that it was using human flesh to make sausages and that the meat product was packed in condoms.

When the matter came up for trial before Chief Resident Magistrate Lameck Mwale, Emmanuel Moonga testified that the results received from the food and drugs lab at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) where he took samples for testing upon receiving a complaint showed that there was no foreign matter in the sausage.

“The complainant said the wife bought the sausage from Pick ‘n’ Pay and when she tried to fry it, it presented strange features, which alarmed the client and later sought the guidance of the LCC. According to her, the sausage was enclosed in a condom-like structure and at that point she needed guidance…I took the sample the very day to avoid compromising the sample, together with the other undamaged control sample. I took them to the food and drugs lab at UTH for foreign matter identification. I presented the sample to the lab for ID (identification) on the same day and they told me results will be ready as soon as possible and I left for work. The following day, the lad called and we collected the results. We wrote to the complainant and we informed him that results are ready, we also wrote Legana to collect a copy of the results. On 9th , Ng’andu came to collect the results accompanied by Kopakopa. The results read that there was no evidence of foreign matter, the lab wrote to say the casing was identified as a food casing,” revealed Moonga.

And in cross-examination by the defense, the witness testified that he was not aware that the matter had been reported to police before the results from the lab were released as the findings were confidential in nature.

The matter has been adjourned to April 21, 2020, for continued trial.