VICE-PRESIDENT George Kunda’s law firm and his wife Irene have sued Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata and QFM Radio for libel.
This is according to a writ of summons filed in the Lusaka High Court principal registry yesterday.
The plaintiffs’ decision to sue Mr Sata follows the PF leader’s recent allegations that the law firm, George Kunda and Company, was paid K3.5 billion by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, contrary to a court order.
“The words complained of in their natural and ordinary meaning meant, and were understood to mean, that the first plaintiff (law firm) and second plaintiff (Mrs Kunda) are dishonest in their conduct and are not fit to practise law in Zambia,” the writ of summons reads in part.
According to the writ, Mrs Kunda is a partner in the law firm and has been an active legal practitioner for more than 27 years while her husband is a sleeping partner, having stopped practising law in the firm in 2002 when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
Mrs Kunda is also a qualified arbitrator, mediator and commissioner of the small claims court.
The writ states that on January 18, 2010, Mr Sata was featured on QFM Radio in a special interview in which he falsely and maliciously alleged that the Vice-President had plundered public funds.
In the interview, Mr Sata said he had written to President Banda on the alleged plunder.
Mr Sata added that in the case of Development Bank of Zambia versus Sun Pharmaceuticals, which Mr Kunda’s law firm represented, the court ordered that parties bear their own costs.
“However contrary to the court order, the Ministry of Finance has now paid George Kunda and Company K3.5 billion as legal costs. The record of payment is there at the ministry…what a joke and a scandal…” Mr Sata said in his letter to President Banda.
He said the letter is a petition he received from ministry officials who are allegedly fed up, as they cannot continue seeing people steal money.
But the plaintiffs argue that QFM Radio falsely and maliciously broadcast the allegations in Zambia and worldwide through its website from January 18, 2010 and subsequent days.
They add that the words meant and were understood to mean that the law firm and its partners, including Mrs Kunda, had committed a criminal offence of fraud and theft of K3.5 billion public funds and are liable for prosecution.
The plaintiffs say the words also meant that they had committed professional misconduct and are liable for disciplinary action and that the public should exercise caution in dealing with them.
“By reason of publication of the said words, the first and second plaintiff have been injured in their character, credit, professional reputation and standing, and have been lowered in the estimation of right thinking members of society,” the writ adds.
The plaintiffs say Mr Sata and QFM publicised or caused the words complained of to be publicised while knowing the same to be libelous. They add that the defendants did so with a reckless disregard as to whether or not the said words were libelous.
The plaintiffs contend that QFM publicised or caused the said words to be publicised for profit.
“The first and second defendants publicised the words complained of wantonly, maliciously and or in contumelious disregard of the plaintiffs’ rights. The second defendant continued to publicise the words complained of on its website notwithstanding the plaintiffs’ complaint in a letter dated January 25, 2010,” the writ reads further.
The plaintiffs add that unless restrained by the court, Mr Sata and QFM will continue to publicise the words complained of.
They are therefore claiming compensatory and exemplary damages and an injunction restraining the defendants, whether by themselves, their servants or agents, from further broadcasting and publicisng defamatory words complained of or any similar libel concerning the plaintiffs.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Only The Truth Shall Set Us Free. Sleeping or not Sleeping Partner, this is tantamount to national plunder at highest level. Woman! shut up!
Everybody is suing everybody and by election time there will be nobody left to be sued. Circus Maximus!
But is it true that 3.5 was paid?
Ba fikili,stop wasting peoples time mssssschw
:d Why not just check the records if the money was paid to Kunda’s company? This whole mumble jumbo of words is just a cover up. Weather Kunda is a sleeping partner or whatever, its obvious he had un due influence on the deal
ahahahah ndipo kwatu kuli drama.
Oh what is happning Mother Zambia?
Oh what is going on our lovely land?
What is happning Mother Zambia to your dear children?
Our father is throu out on tour and we cant live like brothers and sisters.
Justice, peace oh sorry its past tense,the rich are becomig richer and the poor as usual
where are we going Mother Zambia? Where are we going Mother Zambia **==
It looks like Michael Sata will have to be domiciled at the High Court for the next 2 years. He is suing, He is being sued and come 2011 when he loses elections he will be back petitioning. Poor old man, what will he leave in his will, when the cleaners have cleaned him out? Is it any wonder that now he desperately want to be President to recoup his money?
**===)):d:)):d/:o:-??~:>. Loosely translated, this means Zambia is a joke. The country is full of confusion and it seems no one has any idea what to do
Kunda is a thief for his alignment with Kafupi post 2009.
Banda is a criminal for helping Kafupi escape justice.
MMD is stealing taxpayers money daily under the A.G reports.
Lucky Sata is an honest POOR man…The blood suckers will get nothing out of him.
This will provide ‘enertainment’ towards the elections. It will keep Cobra busier than Mpombo, hope it does not push him into regular trips down south, a strategy discovered and successifuly utilised by one Mr Kafupi.
It is time for reasonable and resposible utterances to flow from our leaders. They have to be cautious of their actions and what they say. what type of example are the setting for the youth? Insults, lies,innuendo and hate. What foundation do we want to build the country on? Sata is a relic from the past that should be discarded. he is a demagogue spewing hate. He is unprincipled and willing to do what it takes to win(selfish)
If we want change let us look for leadership that inspires, that is filled with truth,integrity and compassion. Hitler hated the Jews and we know the story, Amin hated the Indians and we know that story. We need leaders that will be good role models for the youth not thugs who only believe in bullyiny and insulting.We need to be serious about who we allow to lead us
To paraphrase a line from one of the Western movies, if you want to sue, sue. I like this because there was no empty threat like Sata does, just action. Now Sata will need that money marooned in RSA for legal expenses. And before you know it Mr Sata, the lawyer boys will have cleaned you out. They have smelt the dollars from the Vatican that are to be used dubiously by Telesphore.
When you have nothing to hide you can sue, but when your cupboard like Sata’s is full of skeletons you can only threaten but dare not sue. Go on Madam Second Lady, take on the now toothless cobra. Looks like by 2011 he will be fighting everybody including all the bloggers from PF.
Sata’s loose tongue is bound to bring him bankrupsy.If the court finds him guilty of lying and instructed to pay billions for damages and court cost, he will have nothing to expend in the campaign.Daily he is getting entraped instead of campaign.What a loser.
Irene and George: Welcome back to Ndola!
Iwe Irene welcome to the battle front not to the PF- (Although, we shall be waiting to see how you will cross whether by the famous ubawato or it will be slower by the overnight train!) We have taken on your husband before and we shall look forward seeing you in the road from Manda Hill (whilst other people always look forward to the road to Manda Hill!) you will be going back to Ndola Kanseshi and we shall be waiting for you as in the ‘olden day!’
Yaba! she too has red lips and grey skin. Shes entering battle field for the first time and immediately goes for the field marshal himself, very ill adviced. Why has it taken her over two months to sue? has she and her husband been covering the tracks for the past couple of months? If she was truely injured by Sata’s comments she was going to sue him when the rod was still hot. It unfortunate that the wife is just as dodgy as the husband, honestly if i were still single i wouldn’t want to date their daughter.
Sata is his own worst enemy. He yaps too much and plays to the gallery and is lulled into deception by the coverage he gets from the opposition Post newspaper. This man will simply never grow up, the chief kaponya and his politics of antagonism.:o
george kunda and the wife should realise that ,one day they will be frequenting the courts.today they can steal as much as they want.the people of zambia are cant wait for 2011 to change this selfish govt but it will not end there,they cant wait also to see people like george kunda taken to court to explain how they got all those billions.zambians are suffering ,so how can one explain these sums of money mentioned as payments .how are these sums arrived at .and that criteria only apply to politicians as the poor zambian is always paid peanuts .cant wait come 2011
Ok so george kunda has just being a sleeping partner from 2002.No wonder imilomo shilya.:-?
I saw this very late, but why didnt the police not arrest those women for flashing yellow cards by putting on those yellow t-shirts?
Now Ireen’George’ Kunda has now got her knickers in a twist. Did the firm recieve the money or not? What was the payment for?
zambians, sata took it too far for the poor woman. Y shud u involve people who are not in politics and issue false allegations against them because their husbands are in politics. Jus to make an individual politically weak. George kunda and company did not receive any money and her clients sued dbz. so how are they stealing money if his wife went against the gvt and the gvt lost the case. please reason before you comment and be mindful of the language you use, these are parents please. they have kids, they deserve some respect. their children might b reading some these comments, put yourselves in their shoes. you can say all the rubbish about kunda whose in politics, not his wife. your life might be in jeopardy, you might need help from them. Dont take life for granted.
How does the Law operate in Zambia? When it comes to libel and slander I am amazed at the way the Zambian Courts deal with these cases.Maybe they are the bread and butter cases for these corrupt Zambian lawyers.Do lawyers in Zambia have a proper code of conduct? A prima facie case, my word!
I like this move. Let Mr PF/Sata MC be busy and made busy at our courts of Law as the man of the moment HH continues to receive more support from Zambians in his campaigns that started in 2008.
Have a blessed day all.
_
Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
21 and others, be patient. Mrs Kunda has sued Sata and the court will tell us the answers in due course. But the courage of Mrs Kunda to sue indicates that Sata was b.u.l.l. s.h.i.t.t.i.n.g. as usual.
Mmmm but my amateur understanding of libel laws is you have to write it down before it is libel. If it is spoken then it is slander. Surely such legal professionals as Mrs Kunda should be aware of this grade 3 distinction?
26. anything communicated in form of a permanent character and visible to the eye is libel, and that anything that temporary and merely audible is slander. You can read from the story that it will dent their character permanently, even after years it will be ther that sata accused them of misusing public funds. Look through the case of youssoupoff v metro goldwyn mayer pictures ltd or slipper v bbc then ul know. its sad you failed to make that distinction, then you say she cant make that distiction. besids, libel is actionable per se whereas slander only applies upon proof of actual damage. please comment with actual knowledge not just on an empty head.
This woman, she like her husband looks like she has the “slim” disease! Well, I hope this does not trigger a Kunda law suit against me.