SIMON MWEWA CHITAMBALA ORDERED TO PAY K20,000 FOR DEFAMING LUSAKA MAN
The Lusaka Magistrates’ Court has ordered vlogger and Lusaka Mayoral candidate Simon Mwewa Chitambala to pay K20,000 in damages within seven days or face contempt of court for defaming Lusaka Resident James Mwalimu by accusing him of selling land at Lusaka City Market and labelling him a thug.
In a judgement dated 26 May, Resident Magistrate Mutinta Mwenya also ordered Mr. Mwewa to bear all legal costs incidental to the proceedings and set security for costs at k5,000 in the event of an appeal.
The court heard that Mr. Mwalimu sued Mr. Mwewa for defamation after he allegedly published statements on Facebook accusing him of selling land to foreigners at City Market area and referring to him as a “UPND Chibolya Thug” and “Black Elephant.”
Evidence presented before court included extracts from the Mwewa’ verified Facebook page and hardcopy records generated from electronic devices.
Magistrate Mwenya found that the statements published on social media were defamatory and had the potential to injure Mr. Mwalimu’ reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
The court further noted that the publications were viewed by thousands of followers on the defendant’s social media platforms and had negatively affected the plaintiff’s standing and business opportunities.
The court subsequently ordered Mr. Mwewa to issue a public apology on the same social media platform within three days, remove the defamatory post and refrain from making further derogatory remarks against the plaintiff through any means.
PN