NDC political consultant Chishimba Kambwili has sued President Edgar Lungu’s press aide Amos Chanda, PF cadre Munir Zulu and others in the Lusaka High Court for defamation.
According to a statement of claim filed on Friday, Kambwili, who is also Roan PF member of parliament complained that Chanda uttered defamatory words against him which were published by News Diggers on October 9.
“In particular, the Plaintiff will aver at trial that the Defendant gave an interview to the said News Diggers Newspaper and caused to be published the following defamatory words; ‘people have been poisoned by a poisonous elite, people who are accustomed to lies like Kambwili, a scrap metal dealer, a downright straight thief. He can question about me and say a simple journalist [has acquired wealth]. Let’s assume I ama simple journalist but I am qualified, more qualified than he is. But he goes around and says a simple journalist. A scrap metal dealer, and you have a population clapping in the context that like that one. Kambwili is talking nonsense and the population is clapping for him. He goes to malign an innocent person and the population is cheering him on. He is a metal thief, well documented. He is not even a scrap metal dealer, he is a thief’,” read the claim.
Kambwili stated that the words were false, malicious and defamatory and he had been severely injured by them.
“The said words are denied in their entirety and could not be further from the truth and the Plaintiff has no proof of the same whatsoever. The Plaintiff will further aver at trial that he has never been found guilty of any of the things has been accused of by the Defendant let alone any criminal offence in the Republic of Zambia,” read the claim.
“The Plaintiff will finally aver that unless the Defendant is restrained from uttering further false, malicious and defamatory statements against the Plaintiff, he will continue to utter the same or similar statements to the total destruction of the Plaintiff’s political and private life as a well respected law abiding and honest citizen.”
Kambwili is seeking damages for defamation and a public apology from Chanda among other things.
Meanwhile, Kambwili also sued PF cadres Zulu, Chanoda Ngwira and Ibrahim Mwamba claiming damages for defamation pertaining to various media statements they have made against him.