DEPUTY POLICE IG SUES NDOLA MAN FOR DEFAMATION

DEPUTY POLICE IG SUES NDOLA MAN FOR DEFAMATION

DEPUTY Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations Milner Muyambango has sued a Ndola man in the Lusaka High Court demanding damages for defamation of character.

Muyambango, who has sued Floyd Malembeka, says the defendant defamed him by accusing him of issuing threats over his life after a foiled agreement for the purchase of a tractor, plough and trailer.

In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court Principal Registry, Muyambango stated that in July 2022, he entered into a verbal agreement with Malembeka for the purchase of a tractor, plough and trailer at a total cost of K400,000.

He stated that it was agreed that Malembeka would release the properties and its documentation after payment of 50 percent of the purchase price.

Muyambango, however, stated that after fulfilling the condition, the defendant only released the tractor and plough.

“On or about the month of July 2022, the plaintiff and the defendant entered into a verbal agreement to purchase a Massey Ferguson tractor, plough, and trailer at a total of K400,000. It was a term of the agreement that the purchase price shall be paid in instalments as and when the plaintiff finds money until the purchase price is settled. The plaintiff will aver at trial that it was also a term of the agreement that after payment of 50 percent of the purchase price, the defendant shall release the tractor, plough and trailer with its documents to the plaintiff,” he stated.

“In fulfilment of the verbal agreement, the plaintiff paid the 50 percent down payment to the defendant who at the material time was known to the plaintiff as Floyd Malembeka. In breach of the oral agreement, the defendant only released the tractor and plough. The defendant further failed to release the trailer and papers for the equipment aforesaid”.

Muyambango stated that in August 2023, he was visited by a representative of Amarat Afghan Investment Limited who stated that they owned the tractors the defendant sold to him and demanded that he halted payments to Malembeka and instead pay to them.

“The plaintiff will aver at trial that sometime in the month of August 2023, he was visited by a representative of Amarat Afghan Investment Limited who stated that they own the tractors the defendant sold to the plaintiff and demanded that the plaintiff stops paying any money to the defendant but to themselves. That further, the representative produced court documents under cause No.2023/HP/1416 where the defendant and Inter Fertilizer Commodities Limited were sued whereof claiming the retain of four tractors including the one I purchased from the defendant,” he stated.

Muyambango stated that in February 2024, Malembeka issued defamatory words claiming that he (Muyambango) was threatening his life.

“In February 2024, the defendant falsely and maliciously spoke concerning the plaintiff the following defamatory words: ‘I have been compelled to bring this issue to the attention of the authorities that yesterday in the afternoon, Mr Milner Muyambango the DIG operations Zambia Police issued threats over my life and said he will put me in my place. That forced me to leave my home around 20:00 hours to some unknown place of course known to myself because a senior person like him who is going to issue threats that he will put me in my place I didn’t understand. That is more reason I left my home, even now as I speak I have left my home’,” he stated.

Muyambango submitted that the words complained of were not only defamatory and malicious but were also full of hate speech.

“The words complained about were maliciously uttered and could not be further from the truth. Had the defendant made even the least inquiry, he would have known that the plaintiff is not corrupt, does not abuse his office to fix perceived enemies or dishonest as the status of the tractors are matters being determined under cause No.2023/HP/14