By 
Lawyers representing Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) leader, Dr Nevers Mumba, have given former president Edgar Lungu’s Political Advisor, Chris Zimba, seven days ultimatum in which to apologize for defaming their client.
Messrs J and M Advocates, warned that failure to do so would result in them procedding to issue originating process in the High Court of Judicature for Zambia.
In the letter of demand dated May, 8, 2024, the Mumba legal team warned to sue Zimba for damages for defamation of character including punitive and or exemplary damages for malicious intent, injunctive relief and legal costs.
Messrs J and M Advocates indicated that they would be requesting the Court to award punitive and or exemplary damages in excess of K20 million.
“This is on account of the deliberate, malicious and calculated nature of your defamatory statements, all made in the pursuit of gaining political mileage,” reads the letter.
They stated that this was on account of Zimba’s lack of regard for the effects of the actions on their client.
In addition, the legal team wants Zimba to apologise for the remarks where he alleged that the former vice president lived a “fat and luxury lifestyle” during Lungu’s tenure and personally benefited financially from the former Head of State.
“We have been instructed by our client, that on 4th May, 2024, you were quoted in the Mast Newspaper edition/publication No. 4533-SM 393 as having made the following statement as against our client thus:
“MMD President Nevers Mumba is a ‘poisonous political snake’ that will also bite and dump President Hakainde Hichilema that day he loses power”
“If Anderson Mazoka was to speak today, he would say ‘Mumba is a man of gold who betrayed and dumped them in 2003,” reads the letter.
The Mumba legal team stated that the remarks by Zimba were malicious, demeaning to their client’s character and deliberately calculated.
They added that the remarks had caused harm by placing their client in public odium, without due care from Zimba as to the veracity and truthfulness of said statements.
“Your aim has been to cause as much damage to our client’s character as possible without regard to the effect this will have on our client who is a senior statesman and former Vice President of the Republic of Zambia,” the legal team stated.
They claimed the remarks intended to form a negative and undesirable opinion about their client to the general public and as such the said statements had caused a grave negative impact on Mumba’s reputation.
“In light of the foregoing, our firm instructions are to demand from you as we now do, to publicly retract the malicious statements made by yourself against our client and tender an apology to our client in a wide circulating newspaper on the front page in like manner to the headlines which you utilised to malign our client’s reputation,” read the letter.
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