By SIMON MUNTEMBA
HONEYBEE Pharmacy Limited is today (Friday) expected to file a lawsuit against News Diggers demanding $480 million in compensation for allegedly publishing ‘false articles’ about the medical products it supplied to the ministry of Health.
According to Honeybee Pharmacy Limited lawyer Tutwa Ngulube, News Diggers has allegedly been maliciously publishing false articles that the company supplied defective condoms and gloves when it is not true.
Mr Ngulube told the Daily Nation in an interview that the alleged false articles have caused Honeybee Pharmacy commercial and reputation damage.
He said the outraged company had no option but to now file a lawsuit against News Diggers after having asked them to retract and apologize.
“We are actually working on the paper work today (yesterday) to separately sue News Diggers for the malicious false articles before the end of this week. We demanded for a retraction and apology but they are arrogantly daring us and now we are suing them. We are demanding $480 million for causing our client’s commercial and reputation damage with their malicious articles,” Mr Ngulube said.
Mr Ngulube said after suing News Diggers, next will be the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) for failure to retract and apologise to Honeybee Pharmacy Limited over their false remarks to the general public that the company supplied defective medical products.
He explained that their outraged client have instructed them to commence legal proceedings against News Diggers and ZABS in the courts of law to prove their statements.
‘’For ZABS, since the ultimatum we gave them has expired and they did not apologise, which means they are also daring us. So the court cases will follow now. We are filing in lawsuits against them after News Diggers,” Mr Ngulube said.
Mr Ngulube who is Honeybee Pharmacy Limited lawyer had written to ZABS demanding that it retracts threats and what he termed as untrue statements made against his client to the general public.
He also wrote to the Zambia Medicines and Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) demanding immediate retraction of threats against Honeybee Pharmacy Limited.
According to a demand letter dated January 12, 2021, Mr Ngulube stated that ZABS has continued to utter false remarks to the general public that his client supplied medication and other medical related products that are defective.
