UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) president, Hakainde Hichilema has denied defaming second Republican president, Frederick Chiluba. He said his comments comparing the former Head of State with a monkey in a maize field, constituted a fair comment on a matter of public interest.
Dr Chiluba has sued Mr Hichilema for libel and is demanding K20 billion as exemplary damages with interest and costs.
The words were extensively quoted in the POST newspapers between May 10 and 18, which likened Dr Chiluba’s term of office to having a monkey in charge of a maize field.
The former Head of State had further asked the court to grant him an injunction restraining Mr Hichilema whether by himself, servants or agents from publishing defamatory words.
But in an affidavit in defence, Mr Hichilema denied publishing any article that was defamatory and stated that he was not in the business of publishing.
Mr Hichilema, through his lawyers, Mwiimbu and Company said the High Court chancery division of the United Kingdom, found Dr Chiluba liable for misappropriation of funds belonging to the Government of Zambia.
He added that Dr Chiluba used public funds to purchase house number 12/2B on Serval road, in Kabulonga.
He claimed that Dr Chiluba received US$308,255 from the ZAMTROP account, an account owned by the Government of Zambia between December 8 1995 and July 2001.
He said Dr Chiluba unlawfully paid churches in America $ 179,000 from the same account and utilised Government funds in the sum of $1,299,400 to pay for his personal clothes to Basile Boutique owned and managed by Antonia Basile.
The UPND leader noted that it was a matter of public notoriety that Dr Chiluba and several of his subordinates were appearing before the courts of law for alleged financial misappropriations.
He denied defaming Dr Chiluba, as the words claimed to have been defamatory did not represent the natural and ordinary meaning of the words set.
Mr Hichilema said that Dr Chiluba was not entitled to any damages whatsoever arising from the statement of claim.
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FTJ, save your money as you have a great debt to repay!! This court action is a waste of time and unlikely to succeed!!! There is no dignity in being constantly in and out of court UNLESS you are a lawyer making ends meet !!!!!
Let’s see, how much did HH say he’s worth? K25Billion? FTJ must have done his calculations….K20Billion will easily pay almost 12% of what the London court is asking him to pay. The K5Bil change? Well, let HH use it to meet legal costs and to have the last 4-course dinner @ Sun International. How cute!
HH you are behind time please we are waiting to see your 2011 strategies.Dont be like these others, bickering day in day out walakota kwati ni ba chuchu, such that you even forget what you are there for.Come on tell us about your policy regarding global warming, not ifya kuya mukupyanga mu mutendere are you copying from David Cameron , he has equally failed to come up with credible policy he is always voting ‘yes’ to what Labour suggests and always going to sweep in Kombonis of UK.Let your councillor take care of that with Lusaka City Council that is why they collect personal levy from my brother who lives and works in Lusaka,ulefwaya ukubwesha Humanism week ?So stop boardroom mentality bring Leadership mentality-I want to see a paradigm shift in your strategies.FTJ mwalimucita mess up so leave him alone to sort out the mess.Tell us your strategy regading reshaping the Local authority, Masebo has guidelines from SADC, check if they are feasible or are just another academic excercise
I told you HH that the fight you have started will derail you from developmental issues. There you are now. Sort it out. That man you have started is corrugated steel. You can not run away from your vomit until you pay him. My last advice to you is that you should refrain from making comments on these seasoned politicians. Leave it to us we us we will do it here on the blog. We are going to carpet them. Otherwise if you won’t pay the demanded fee at least you have to part away with more than half what you declared before the trpartite elections. Nakuchenjesha. Pantu imwe mwebaiche tamutina abakalamba.
Chiluba is not stupid to pick on HH! He knows that these are the people that benefited during his presidency and now they turn round and utter some of the these comments! He is not a foolish guy he knows what he is doing!
Just like I think, one day the Post, specificaly Mmembe will be in court with Chiluba. He knows that Mmembe and Mutembo Nchito are beneficiaries in some of these shady, deals in the name of fighting corupption. It is such a messy, this world!
Anonymous, i hope you are wrong.But one thing for sure is that most of what FTJ has done or said in the recent months has been everything but clever!!A little less arrogance is not a sign of weakness.All this dirty linen being washed in public could have been avoided if people reacted with less emotion and more intelligence.Mmembe and his paper have been consistent from inception……they have attacked the govt. of the day and only shallow minded opposition leaders took it that he was on their side!! Consistency is a rare feature in African politics don’t you think ??
FTJ will never win this HH case. Ha ha ha ha!!! Let the judgement be registered. I am tired of being pa KMB. May be govt will have extra money for the youth fund.
This man has waste resources of the nation starting from thieving, bribery, fraud, capital flight, womanising, no attacking innocent people like HH yet we were yet to build him a house alas not forgetting his medical care. No high court case in Lusaka wasting our money. Please Sangwa stop milking this dying cow you are drugging Zambia is dirty why cant you advice FTJ well and win diginity among Zambian. Next it will be you on the line.
Ba Baby Boy(7), ama youth fund ubwingi ba youth balya!! The problem has never been the concept or the funds for that matter…..the problem has been the YOUTH!! The culture of paying back loans/grants is alien to the youth of today. How many revolving funds have we been through??? The funds have only “revolved” in one direction……OUT!! When the govt. asks for the money back the same “youth” riot and close the bus stations etc etc. Ba Baby Boy, how else can we the tax payer help you,apart from just dishing out “youth funds”??
I court “It may be slow and expensive but Zambians view the court’s work as an important step to help end impunity, so that others who think of doing the same stealing govt monies might think twice before they can do it”.
Its scientifically wrong to liken someone to a Monkey or any animal, as they are genetically and socially different. Anyone who does so is therefore claiming that you are naturally or socially not what people think you are. In such cases, then sucha person is liable to prooving that you really are a monkey or your styles are of a monkey. HH should prove! Unfortunately he will not and this will affect his political career. He really does not know what he has gotten into!!
#11 Ali mucibe mambala,a wise man is not judged until you hear speak, so uyu HH nayapwila umulilo pa makasa, he was using english not Tonga, so if he doesnot understand why did he get excited to say it.Uzadya myala ,let abana Sata, Chuchu balibelela, wamona nomba you sound like a kid pakucita justify your actions.Be man enough and face FTJ
Lelo kalendele, nebo shaliko bluuurrrr. Ba FTJ fix the boy.
This is the effort FTJ should continue putting up in clearing his name. The same spirit i expect of him when it comes to cases of plunder. It pains to see a man collapse at a time he is expected to appear in court to clear his name. I would suggest that the doctors advise FTJ against involving himself in streneous exercises like was observed when he collapsed in his bedroom just before appearing before a committee of doctors last month. Exercises could take a lot of form especially for married men. What more when you are dealing with a specially taught Ngoni woman….not good for the heart!!!!!
Just to quickly get back to Pundit, Yes I hope I am wrong as well! However, whenyou look at the pattern this is the first Chiluba has pounced! He nearly did before to the Post, but understably he held on because the outcome of the case was not decided! When they Zambian courts finally do that,and if he is found to be innocent, I see a flurry of court cases involving Mmbembe and Chiluba!
For HH, Chiluba is going in not for money but to expose HH. Remember HH made his money during Chiluba’s tenure so he few things about him!
For the Post or rather Mmembe, I have no emperical evidence but when you look at the pattern, Mmembe has gone beyond journalism! He is for instance so defensive of Nchito, by the way they are very good friends, such that even when the Presidents complains about the legals fees which are running in billions, Nchito writes the editors opinion and the president is forced to backtrack!! Further, Concerning Chiluba, Mmembe looses objectivity and starts insulting!
Just to quickly get back to Pundit, Yes I hope I am wrong as well! However, when you look at the pattern this is the first Chiluba has pounced! He nearly did before to the Post, but understably he held on because the outcome of the case was not decided! When Zambian courts finally do that,and if he is found to be innocent, I see a flurry of court cases involving Mmembe and Chiluba! For HH, Chiluba is going in not for money but to expose HH. Remember HH made his money during Chiluba’s tenure so he knows afew things about him!
For the Post or rather Mmembe, I have no emperical evidence but when you look at the pattern, Mmembe has gone beyond journalism! He is for instance so defensive of Nchito, by the way they are very good friends, such that even when the Presidents complains about the legals fees which are running in billions, Nchito writes the editors opinion and the president is forced to backtrack!! Further, Concerning Chiluba, Mmembe looses objectivity and starts insulting!
Chiluba will be lucky to nick anything from HH. his case is brittle. HH did not generate or bring to public the initial character of Chiluba being a thief and pluder(Thieving -Monkey).Therefore there is no way he could have defamed him and brought his name into public ridicule as Chiluba’s thief tag was already in public domain and published in both local and international media.
The reference of Chiluba’s government as that of monkeys chosen to supervise a maize field can be interpreted as reference to the MMD govt of that time managed by FTJ where there is overwhelming evidence that they defrauded Zambia.
Kaunda had warned the Zambians about Chiluba and the MMD even before they ascended to power that Chiluba was untrustworthy and had stolen K10,000.00. this statement alone put chiluba character to have been bad even b4 elected.
As it stands now, Zambians are regretting having Chosen Chiluba, and therefore in future they don’t need to chose monkeys who can not be trusted
#17. The issue could only be the way you put it if HH was a traditional cousin to FTJ, in which case FTJ could have taken the case to the local court were the traditional based judgement can apply and no case would be found, but its not the case and in the higher courts, such does not sufice. HH should prepare himself, what he has started is difficult to stop. I only hope he has enough funds to pay his lawyers because he will need them for a long time.
Bigge no bembe is after top position in government okay.Don’t mix province and tribal.BY Mwila is not bembe,but Ushi or Bisa. Sata PF is not Bemba but Besa lala . Siulwapwa not Bembe but Mambwe or Lungu.The late Mungomba was Mambwe.Nawakwi is Namwanga. So when you say Bembe’s like power.Which Bemba’s are talking about? One day we sue your month . We at state house people tell the president ati yes sir we are all Bemba’s.This how Mumba and Lupando got to the position number because no Bemba was in high office in LPM.The Mambwe’s and Namwanga’s teamed agast Lupando at the MMD meeting and removed him from chairman of the province. The all team was Namungala.Sikasote,Sichilima
and so on .That is how Namungala was drop by LPM for talking tribal politics to the province and Lupando became minster of the province,then later Vice president. Now China. So you can see that the Bemba’s are very good people. Luapula is not Bemba bane.pleasi
in Luapula and Northern it is please.No Bemba part
Musonda, the case will be interesting indeed. I foresee it degenerating into something ugly. Chiluba has a lot to prove that his name and character was defamed by the comment made by HH on the london Judgment.
The amount of Money being asked amounting to K20billion is unprecedented in Zambian courts and non of those charges files would amount to such settlement.
On legal fees, I am sure HH and Chiluba can afford there own legal fees and should not be much of anybody’s worry.
I plan to sue chiluba also as responsible citizen for bringing Zambia’s presidency into ridicule by his conduct in office. I hope to bilk him of at least K50billion, which I will donate to the orphanages who died due to lack of drugs in hospitals.
no 18 your saying the truth,we need party for the bemba’s now.Let the Mambwe and Namwanga’s form there own party. futher they should make mbala there qh and Kasama for the Bwalya,Mulenga,s Chanda,s Chilufya,s
Chiti’s, Mubanga’s Chileshe’s Ng’wandwe’s,Mwisa’s ,Chibesa ‘s, NKole’s,Mwamba’s ,Chilekwa’s,Nkandu’s and the Chanda we yaya.
No should use the tribal bemba any more to get a top job,we soon start puting the names Bemba’s in the post
,the Lusaka Times , other papers tv every week.Mwaba sha mwatu chusha
#21 Bemba man are you educated? I can’t get any sense from what you have written. The case at hand is of national problem of which we have to look at very attentively in such a way that political relation is improved.Tribalism won’t solve anything.We need to develop our country not through point each other fingers. We need to contribute positively.
Haaljolo, the issue of bemba people like power is what am writing about.To me it is like you don’t read time this things,please take time and read than just replying.What education are talking about,from the unza yamafi where you see 10 in a room.National issue is to develop you home land and not Lusaka and Ndola.
43 years you chap you talk of educatuion.Learned peopole don’t talk of being educated. You can not even help your poor relatives in the village apart from having you degree a staying in the city kolwe. Go to the US each city has it on rules,like in GA can not sell beer on Sunday and if you what to marry you have to do blood test ,and in other citys it the other way round. UKALYA EDUCATION YOBE KOLWE.
Buya Haajolo is just a dog coming from the city and no village.What is education when he can not even build the mother and the faher a small house.The chap can not even buy a shoe for the to use ku church niKOLWE WA MUTAUNI.KK AND HIS MEN WITH LOW EDUCATION DID ALOT FOR THIS COUNTRY.WHAT EDUCATION YAPA UNZA INUKA KWATI MAFI.WE HAVE OUR CHIEFS THAT CAN THINK BETTER THAN KOLWE YI WE WAMBWA WE.YOU THINK YOU WILL RULE AS BUFI .
MULEKENI KOLWE HAAJOLO BECAUSE EDUCATION AKWATA WILL TAKE HIM NO WAY,NOT EVEN IN THE POLICE OR ARMY.
MA FICHEBE.
SATA is BEMBA not Bisa nor Lala, and he is NOT a thief.
I looked at the case of HH defamtion against Chiluba. Im my own opion this libel because it was published in the media. Somehow I have fear that HH has joepardized his political career like Mungomba Dean the late a leader should have a clean record. This will depend on how the court proceeding go on you in law we say if you say yes I did that then you are reliable and answerable of a case. I have withdraw my first remarks I made because I first head this news on read but when I read it on the media I start which way now ba HH. Somehow I have a feeling Chiluba has good lawyers who are backing this case and they have seen it coming out the right time to compensate his wrong doings. This will offset his debt and akind of relief then he will want to prove to the nation that he didnt steal but wrongly advised.
# 20. Critically looking at this case of defamation, the main issue is that it was published. Unless HH proves that he was wrongly quoted by the post. But for as long as he says it was done in national interest, then he has to prove. I know that Chiluba will proove by producing the POST Newspaper in wich the article was published and the whole world read. So HH will also have to prove otherwise.
Kafupi is just broke and hopes to use HH’s funds to steal another man’s wife. Word on the street is that young Regina wants a firmer implement and has been seen hunting. Besides, No Romance without Finance!
I wonder why FTJ never sued the Post despite constant invitations to do so.This might work against his case as HH is not responsible for publication of the alleged defamation . Expression of an opinion without calling for broadcasting may constitute a legal argument, I may be wrong.
#26, Sata will do well to avoid marketing himself as one from an ‘advantaged’ tribal grouping. He may appeal more to some people if he tries to have a national face.
#30. Hey
Taking on the POST in a legal suit would be an act of self destruction on the part of chiluba. It seems there are a lot skeletons in chiluba’s closet. These guys are able to bring up even the issues about chiluba which are not in the courts and it seems they can even gather enough evidence to put up a good fight.
The POST call chiluba a THIEF everyday. The last time he tried to challenge this in court, he brought himself in deep waters.
Ba Born Rich(31), when it comes to legal battles Fred Mmembe ni Lesa Wa Lubuli ( A Warlord !!!) Even FTJ knows some battles are never fought because with the POST, they are always lost!!!
I’m sure FTJ is not ready to press the self destruct button yet.
No 26 your wrong.Sata is not Bemba,but Bisa Lala
from Mpika okay.Bisa Lala is not Bemba.That is where you have gone wrong to think every one from Northern Province is Bemba.Go pakusefwa pa ngwena and see the Bemba’s and if you will see Bisa Lala. Namwanga’s and
Mambwe Chiefs at the event.The Bisa’and Lungu’s have there own events and not Ukusefwa pa ngwena okay.No Bemba has yet formed a political part after Kapwepwe and Leshina of Chisali.Just go ahead with you tribal politics. To know more about the Bemba ask the Changufu’s, the Chikwanda,Mwamba,Bwalya ,Chanda,Lupando,Mulenga’Musonda’s Mubanga,Mwaba,s,Kakana,s Mucheleka,s Lukashi’s Chilekwa,s AND many more to help you.Mwamba Luchembe is
is the only Bembe President rule for a few hours .
Sata is not kabwalala,Kabwalala’s are Phiri’s from the east,Chiluba’s from Luapula Mambwe’s from the North and Namwanga’s from the north. Rego Phiri Banks money malonda wachebe.Chiluba still in court no results yet
in the Zambia courts apart from Smith the British M15.
Nawakwi’s , Sikasote Sichilima Silava and the Chibombomilimo’s from Mbala,Isoka and Nakonde food supplyers in Zambia and most of then in court or files with DEC. The chaps will suppil 50 bags of kapeta and 10 bags of beans and later 50 ati it was 5000 bags and 10 bag was 100,000 bags.How can one say Nawakwi can make a good president when she is a kawalala wa beans and kapeta money.Just go to court and DEC you will see how files of food supplyers of Namwanga’s and Mabwe’s are waiting to go court.That is why all the Lungu’s had to vote for LPM S.C because of the bean and kapeta issue.Well LPM don’t pay the chaps,even if they gave you there vote it is a rule of law.If your Bemba go kukusefya pa ngwena .Viva Chitimuku
HH, please relax – you can only defame a man of integrity but Chiluba has no integrity therefore no case of defamation can hold. You statement was very clear and explained quite a lot about the ***** in very few words – Very wise metaphor.
we shall see..