By Staff Reporter
Munakupya Hantuba and Valentine Chitalu have demanded US$7 million from FDD leader Edith Nawakwi and asked her to retract what they say is defamation of character in her remarks to Daily Revelation and other media.
In a demand letter said to be from Malambo & Co dated May 23, 2024 issued against Nawakwi, something she said she had not received when contacted, the FDD leader has been accused of defaming the two individuals’ characters.
The letter argued that Nawakwi’s remarks against the two individuals in the media articles were false, demeaning and injurious to Hantuba and Chitalu’s characters and malicious as she did not consult them to give their side of the story and therefore circulated to injure their reputation and subject them to public contempt, ridicule and odium without care of the veracity of the said statements.
It is argued in the letter that the two were not involved in state capture, corrupt practices and were not drawing government salaries or holding government assets as purported.
It also argued that the two were not agents of the companies Nawakwi purported, including Rothschild and they had not stolen from anyone, including for the government.
“This therefore is to demand from you as we do now that you render a public apology and retraction on the same through mediums that you used to maliciously slander our Clients in a text acceptable to us and that you propose how you intend to ameliorate our Clients’ position in view of your defamatory contents in your various articles stated herein before which value we peg at Seven Million Kwacha (K7,000,000.00),” the letter stated in part. “Should we not hear from you within the next three (3) days we shall be constrained to issue court process immediately without further recourse to you. Kindly acknowledge safe receipt on copy hereof.”
The letter argued that Nawakwi featured on One Love Radio radio programme on March 28, 2024 where she questioned the role of Hantuba and Chitalu on “the board.”
“What is Valentine Chitalu doing in State House? Every time there is a transaction on mines Valentine Chitalu whooo State House Presidential Advisor how much does he get paid from my pay check how much? He has surrounded himself with friends. Munakupya Hantuba is like phone and simcard with Hichilema, they started from when they were young,” the letter stated in part. “Munakupya Hantuba started from Anglo American, Zamanglo he was transferred to Aflife … what he is the only one who is still there. So Aflife Saturnia regina Pension Fund, Benefit Consulting, those companies owned by Hakainde managed by Hantuba. So when I see him as Board Chairman for some assets on the Copperbelt ‘heh bakabwela kuwina weh’.”
The letter stated that Nawakwi said the two had come to get rich saying she did not mind people calling her “Jezebel” for calling for the alleged rot to stop.
“I don’t hate the individual I hate the abuse of office of Presidency,” the letter stated in part.
The letter also addressed the article quoting Nawakwi in Daily Revelation.
“You were quoted by a Daily Revelation Newspaper issue no.83 dated Friday, April 12-14, 2024 which was also posted online with a headline: God will judge Hakainde harshly when he retires from earth – Nawakwi wherein you stated as follows: Speaking with Daily Revelation, Nawakwi said the deep state corruption President Hichilema had allowed to prevail in this country had now become nauseating,” the letter stated in part.
The letter stated that Nawakwi told the newspaper that the state capture by Valentine Chitalu had gone beyond what Zambians could tolerate.
“You know what happened about the sale Mopani, ZCCM-IH advertised for local lawyers to come forward as ZCCM agents on the sale of Mopani. So they did and there was a preselection. But just when they had shortlisted to go for announcement they were asked to stop because of the other bidders who had been included,” the letter quoted Nawakwi as saying. “The ones who were included was Rothschild, and their representative is Valentine Chitalu, the business partner of Hakainde Hichilema. And Hakainde has the audacity to go around telling people that there is no local capacity, because his representative is a representative of Rothschild.”
The letter stated that Nawakwi further said that the same pattern had followed up the sale of Mopani, where bidders were put aside to accommodate IRH of Dubai, as another of President Hichilema’s partner Hantuba came through Jubilee Metals for the black mountain.
Nawakwi charged that Hichilema had not come to serve the ordinary people who were languishing in poverty or those who were dying in the University Teaching Hospital because of lack of drugs, saying even when they go to their graves, God would condemn them for looting and plunder.
“How did Jubilee Metals get the Black mountain in Mufulira?” the letter quoted Nawakwi as telling Daily Revelation.
The letter also quoted Nawakwi as making the similar remarks during her appearance on the UKA virtual rally hosted by Lucky Mulusa.
The letter stated that the lawyers had instructions that she continued making the same remarks before different media and online outlets, including on Emmanuel Mwamba’s podcast.
“It is our understanding that the said radio station, newspaper, virtual rally and podcast enjoy immense and widespread coverage in Zambia and beyond not only by reason of the radio broadcast and circulation they transmit, but also because of the internet platforms through which their signal and broadcast can be monitored from anywhere in the world that one can find internet,” the letter stated in part.
