Legana Investments Limited proprietor Edith Nawakwi says she is deeply indebted for the faith and support that citizens have shown after the product came under “unwarranted attacks from detractors” who alleged that the sausages contained condom particles.

And Nawakwi says she wants to see her detractors in jail, adding that allegations that Legana sausages are packaged with condoms is an insult to condom producers as well because latex melts in fire.

According to a social media video that went viral last week, a woman alleged that she found a used condom in a Legana sausage.

The said woman went on to mention that the used condom indicated that people had been eating human flesh all along.

“I woke up in the morning, hungry and decided to make something to eat. I made some fries with sausage. You know, Legana sausage is everywhere, everyone likes it, it’s nice and tasty. So, what happened was that I was chewing through the sausage and found a condom in it wrap. Meaning, we have been eating human flesh all this while,” the unidentified woman who is alleged to be on the run, was heard saying.

The Lusaka City Council (LCC), through the Department of Public Health, stated on August 7, that it received a complaint from Erick Ng’andu that he found a ‘condom’ like foreign matter in the alleged Legana sausage.

LCC public relations manager George Sichimba indicated that results received showed that there was no evidence of foreign matter identified and that the material in question was identified as a food-grade casing.

Since the said video was posted on social media, consumers have largely defended the local product.

And in an interview with News Diggers! Nawakwi said she was deeply indebted for the support that citizens had shown over the product.

“We are deeply indebted for the faith and belief that what we give to our customers is nothing but the best. We are producing sausages using local meat. We buy from a very large network of small-scale farmers. Women and youths will bring us 20 pigs in a month and there are large-scale farmers who come as far as Kafue fisheries to support us. All of them called in distress, to say ‘what is happening to our business?’ Because this was not just an attack on Legana, it was an assault on the chain that’s involved in putting the sausage on the table,” Nawakwi said.

“We are deeply indebted for the support, which we truly don’t deserve because we are a very small Zambian company struggling to grow and to build. To get this massive support, we can only say thank you.”

Nawakwi further said allegations that Legana sausages were packaged with condoms was an insult to condom producers because latex melted in fire.

“To allege that we are packing the product in condoms is an affront to even the producers of condoms because latex does melt in the face of fire. And the only thing that can be cooked with steam and smoked is a sausage casing,” she said.

And Nawakwi said she wanted to see her detractors in jail, adding that the two should report themselves to the police.

“Our detractors are Luyando Kopakopa and her partner Eric Ng’andu, whom we discovered is an inspector at Lusaka Central Police. He seemed to have recruited the young lady to perform this act of malice and unsubstantiated criminal libel to allege that we murder human beings and use the cadavers to process [the product]. Since the complainant is a police officer, he is right now on the run. He should honour himself and report himself to Kabwata Police Station,” she said.

“Today, when the police were closing in on Luyando, he whisked her away in an unregistered vehicle and gestured that he was going to take her to police station. But he is a complainant and co-conspirator and they should own up and report themselves to the police! I can assure you this time around I want them to see them inside of jail because to allege that your friends are murderers is not correct!”

Nawakwi explained that Legana sausage was pure and people loved it because the product was not in any way adulterated.

She added that her detractors may have been paid up by their competitors.

“We don’t try to adulterate the products the way some other producers are doing, putting mechanically-deboned meat from Brazil or France and pretending to give our children sausage. We don’t try to do that. I am a mother and I’m extremely concerned about what we are feeding our children and that’s why we do our best,” said Nawakwi.

“The motive that this person has, I can only think that probably these are paid-up by some of our competitors. But we are not even 10 per cent of the market. We would like to be, but the financial situation in this country is dismal! So, we do it slowly, we started in 2011 and have been growing. From producing from the kitchen to now having a factory. We continue to be persistent and we will get there. Otherwise, Legana is not just a product you find in Zambia, there are some young ladies buying and getting papers and selling in Kenya. Everywhere you go, whether you are in South Africa or in Europe, [they] talk about Legana and how unique this product is because it’s pure.”