Mulenga demands K10m damages from Mumbi Phiri for defamation

MULENGA Sata has given PF deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri seven days to apologise for accusing him of having connived with his step mother, Dr Christine Kaseba, to kill his father, late president Michael Sata.

According to a demand letter dated May 17, 2016 addressed to Phiri by his lawyers AKM Legal Practitioners, Mulenga demanded to be paid K10 million for damages within seven days to avoid a court process against the PF deputy secretary general.

On May10, The Post published a story where Phiri said Mulenga did well to resign from the PF because he did not have a grade 12 certifcate and further alleged that he planned with his stepmother to kill his late father.

According to an audio recording, Mumbi told women when she stopped over at a salon in Kalingalinga compound that Mulenga was corrupt and challenged him to explain where he got the money to buy a house in Sunningdale when he was a dog seller before joining the government.

But Mulenga through his lawyers stated that the words used in the article of The Post newspaper dated Tuesday May 10, 2016, edition no.7144 entitled:

“LEKENI ALEYA…Mulenga Sata apangene naba stepmother bakwe ati twipaye batata – Mumbi Phiri” were no doubt uttered by herself and at a place where the public were present; a recording of which was also taken and is now in the public domain, widely read both in the electronic, print and social media.

“In your sayings, you no doubt, in direct mention of and in reference to our client, stated the following that: Our client, in collusion with his stepmother planned and killed his father, the late Michael Chilufya Sata, the past fifth president of the Republic of Zambia; our client is corrupt and corruptly obtained or stole money to acquire or purchase a house in Sunningdale, Lusaka. That our client was a dog seller before he joined government; our client got involved and interfered with his parents’ marital problems; our client has no grade 12 certificate; our client was and continues to be stupid; our client does not deserve to have a better life equal to or more than yourself and further without any shame you decided to drag the free and independent soul and name of the little angel late Kayula, daughter of our client, into your defamatory comment,” Mulenga’s demand letter stated.

“We hasten to mention that the above words in their natural, ordinary and plain meaning have injured our client heavily. Further, to any reasonable person of standing in society, our client finds the above words not only highly defamatory, but ungodly, evil and highly injurious not only to himself, but to the entire of his family, friends, business partners and his supporters.”

Mulenga’s lawyers stated that Mumbi’s statement showed that she knew how president Sata died and so had privileged information, which the government had never revealed to the public and so her utterances could be of great help to investigative agencies to determine how the former head of state died.

“As you recognised in your utterances, you are aware that our client is a high standing person in society, a public figure, a politician, who has served this country diligently as councillor, Mayor of Lusaka, deputy minister at State House, provincial minister for Lusaka, to mention but a few, and therefore, your words towards him are highly injurious to his reputation and character and are meant to lower his standing in society and in the eyes of the right thinking people. The words have brought him in hatred, ridicule and contempt, that he is a killer, a thief and a corrupt person,” reads the letter.

“He [Mulenga] has lost the trust and the love he had earned from some of his family members, the country and the world at large as he is now taken to be a killer of his own father and he risks to be inconvenienced by investigative agencies and face possible prosecution for crimes he has never committed,” stated Mulenga’s lawyers.

Mulenga demanded that Mumbi pays him K10 million in damages.

“For the above reasons, our client finds provocation, false and malice in your words uttered and communicated by you and has instructed us to demand, which we now do, the following that: Within seven calendar days from receipt of this letter, you cause to be paid to him damages in the sum of K10,000,000.00 (Ten million) through our firm; in addition, and to avoid court process against you and at your further cost, within seven calendar days from receipt of this letter, you cause to be made a public apology unreservedly to be advertised for a period of seven days on the first and second pages of the following newspapers: The Post, the Daily Nation, Times of Zambia and the Zambia Daily Mail. Should you not heed to the above, we have strict instructions to commence legal proceedings against you without any further notice.”

Mumbi couldn’t comment on the matter as her mobile phone went unanswered.

The Post