Tasila, Kapata, Lubinda Mukula suit on hold
THE Lusaka High Court has halted proceedings pending appeal in a matter where President Edgar Lungu’s daughter and two cabinet ministers have sued News Diggers Newspaper and a US-based organisation for linking them to the illegal smuggling of Mukula logs.
Ms Tasila Lungu, Lands Minister Jean Kapata and Justice Minister Given Lubinda sued News Diggers Newspaper, it’s reporter Mukosha Funga and the Environmental Investigations Agency (EIA) for defamation of character.
High Court Judge Pixie Yangailo stayed the matter following an appeal by EIA to the Court of Appeal where it is challenging the High Court’s refusal to dismiss the case for alleged irregularities.
The court halted the proceedings on the condition that EIA desists from publishing similar articles complained of.
In staying the proceedings, Judge Yangailo said she considered the possibility of the appeal succeeding and that it was her considered opinion that it would be in the interest of justice to exercise her discretion to grant the stay of proceedings.
“I say so because should the Court of Appeal overturn the ruling of this court, the same would go to the very root of the plaintiffs’ case and terminate further proceedings before this court.
In this matter, Ms Lungu and the others are demanding damages for libel in connection to a story on illegal Mukula trade which was published in News Diggers and derived from an EIA report.
They are seeking an order of interim and permanent injunction, restraining Funga, News Diggers and EIA from publishing similar articles and opinions relating to them.
Earlier, on March 3 this year, the High Court dismissed an application where News Diggers and the EIA wanted the matter thrown out on grounds that the Statement of Claim by Mr Lubinda, Ms Kapata and Ms Lungu failed to outline the exact defamatory words contained in the articles complained about.
EIZ however, appealed the High Courts’s ruling to the Court of Appeal and applied to have the proceedings before the High Court stayed, pending the ruling of the Court of Appeal.