Court dismisses defamation case

THE Lusaka Boma local court has dismissed a case in which a woman of Kamwala Township sued for defamation of character after she was insulted by her boyfriend’s wife.

Purity Daka, 26, is said to be having an affair with James Phiri but things went sour when Phiri’s wife Sylvia Tembo, 28, discovered about the relationship and started insulting Daka.
Daka, however, refused to have been in a relationship with Phiri and decided to sue Phiri’s wife for defamation of character.
She said before the court that she had earlier reported the matter to the police before withdrawing the case on condition that she had forgiven Tembo but was forced to go to court after the defendant’s persistent insults against her.
Daka said that Tembo continued insulting her whenever she would visit her sister who is the neighbour, and even followed her at her house threatening  to burn her with hot water.
“When I go to Kabanana to visit my sister, she insults me that I am a prostitute and that I drink ARVs. She followed me at my house and tried to burn me with hot water,” she said.
However, Tembo said she had found Daka with pants down with her husband in the vehicle outside a bar after her friend informed her that Phiri was with a girlfriend.
She agreed to having hit Daka with an iron bar but denied following her to insult her at her place saying it was in fact Daka who had been following her.
Tembo’s husband could not help matters for Daka as he agreed that he had been in a relationship with Daka.
Phiri told the court that he had asked for forgiveness from his wife after she caught him with Daka in vehicle having sexual intercourse.
“I apologised to my wife and I told Daka that I am no longer interested in her, but she continues chasing after me and sending me love messages which are creating conflict between me and my wife,” he said.
Senior magistrate Hildah Choonya sitting with Senior Magistrate Pauline Newa dismissed the case saying there was no act of defamation of character as it was true that Daka had an affair with Tembo’s husband.
The court noted the fact that Phiri had accepted having love affair with Daka, there was no way the plaintiff could sue for defamation.

Times of Zambia