Fri, 30 Jun 2017 11:06:05 +0000
By Chintu Malambo
A MAN allegedly hired to kill the wife of UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema, Mutinta, has now sued her in the Lusaka High Court for defamation.
Simon Bobo was arrested and detained by police for interrogation after Mrs Hichilema accused him in her press release and his picture was splashed in the Mast Newspaper and other online blogs.
His offense apparently was to wear a PF cap at the Chimbokaila prison where he had gone to visit his incarcerated relative.
Mr Bobo, an economics anthropologist of Lusaka, claims that Mrs Hichilema’s press statement had compromised his safety and that of his family.
In a writ of summons filed in the Lusaka High Court principal registry office, Mr Bobo charged that on 30th April 2017 while at Lusaka Central Prison, Ms Hichilema issued a fabricated story to the press, alleging that he blocked her vehicle, started taking pictures, insulted her and that she had started living in fear.
Mr Bobo charged that the press statement that Ms Hichilema issued to the media was false, malicious and injurious to his reputation and personal image.
“The said press statement that Ms Hichilema issued on both print and online publication were false, malicious, and an injury to my personal reputation and image.
“It has compromised the safety of my family and I, and also affected my standing in the entire country and across the world in a way that family, friends and business associates started looking at me in a bad way,” he said.
He said that the statement was a gross violation of his rights and defamatory to his character without substantiated proof.
Mr Bobo said that his intention was to visit his cousin who an inmate at Lusaka Central prison but Ms Hichilema mistook him for the person who wanted to murder her because he was in a PF labeled hat.
He charged that he was taken to Police Headquarters for interrogation which later reviewed that there was no evidence to the claims and that he was made to pay K54 for disturbance likely to cause breach of peace and that his picture was published in Zambian Eagle online publication, Watchdog and the MAST newspaper as the person who was hired to kill Mr Hichilema.
“While in the cells, I was made to stay with four other inmates of which one of them took a picture with me, for remembrance, but to my surprise, the same picture was cropped and used to publish a statement in the Zambian Eagle online publication, the MAST newspaper and Watch Dog, purporting that a source informed them that I was the same killer who was sent to kill Mr Hichilema,” he said.
Mr Bobo said that according to the publication, he was identified as one of the key men, allegedly entrusted with the mission.
He said that he wanted to resolve the matter amicably and told Ms Hichilema and all those who published the said defamatory statement to remove it from all online publication and that she should apologize, which the deadline was 4th June 29, 2017, but she failed to do so, hence the court suit.
Mr Bobo now claims K5 billion, compensation for libel and slander, interest on the sum claimed and exemplary damages for harassment and emotional turmoil suffered as a result of the slanderous statements.
