LUSAKA lawyer Tutwa Ngulube has distanced himself from a public apology attributed to him about his regret for accusing the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) for illegally staying in office early this year, claiming the legal body itself wrote it.

Meanwhile, the Legal Disciplinary Committee has found Ngulube guilty and ordered him to issue a public apology, failure to which, his practicing license will be suspended.

According to the apology, which was published in some daily newspapers, Ngulube admitted to misleading the public and apologized for his actions.

“On 12th April, 2020, I issued a statement where I accused the executive of the Law Association of Zambia of occupying their office illegally. I made that statement without properly looking at the provision of the law and ended up misleading the public. I would, therefore, like to apologize to the president of the Law Association of Zambia Mr Eddie Mwitwa and his executive for that statement and to the entire legal profession for bringing it into disrepute. I would also like to apologize to the members of the public for misleading them with my statement,” the apology read.

But in an interview, Ngulube claimed he had nothing to say because he did not draft the apology as it was the work of the LAZ Council.

“That matter was with the Legal Practitioners Committee, who drafted that apology. I have nothing to say about it because I may be accused of insulting them again. I do not want to comment on that matter. The best people to respond are LAZ themselves and not me. I did not draft the apology so I can’t say much on it,” said Ngulube.

According to the ruling of the LAZ Disciplinary Committee dated June 22, however, Ngulube was found guilty and ordered him to make a public apology as failure to do so would lead to his practicing license being suspended.

“It is certain to the Committee that the Respondent decided to use the media to turn a legal issue into a political fight…As penalty, the Respondent is ordered to issue a written public statement of apology to the president of the Law Association of Zambia and the entire membership within six days of this decision to be published in the daily newspapers at the Respondent’s cost, failing which his practicing certificate will be suspended, which statement should be approved before publication. The matter is in the meantime referred to the Disciplinary Committee for further action,” read the ruling.