A 49-year-old businessman of Chawama in Lusaka has pleaded not guilty to a charge of Defamation of the President after he allegedly likened President Lungu to a manhood.
According to court documents, Peter Habasimbi, a Tonga by tribe of Gweembe in Southern Province defamed the President contrary to Section 69 of the Penal Code Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence are that Habasimbi on 26th April 2017 in Lusaka, with intent to bring the name of the President into ridicule did publish an insulting matter by word of mouth to which you aid, “Chikala wamene mu na votela President alengesa” (the Manhood you voted as President is the causer).
When the matter came up today in the Lusaka Magistrate Court, Habasimbi pleaded not guilty and was granted a K6000 bail with two working surities.
May 24 2017 has been set as the date for the next court hearing.
If there is no recording he is safe! court works on evidence
Why mention his tribe?
You don’t do that. Throw the book at him.
Thanks
Bb2014,2016
Being taken to court for saying the truth?????
Archaic primitive laws inherited from one party dictatorship. Zambians are now living under fear of the oppressive PF regime. They can’t discuss PF failures. They can’t protest against the recently increased electricity rates, the coming fuel increase or even when the price of mealie-meal hits K300.
In RSA, an artist Ayanda Mabulu painted Jacob Zuma drilling Nelson Mandela from behind. In spite of the bad taste, he didn’t commit any crime because their democracy is developed.
Just google “Ayanda mabulu zuma mandel painting”, you’ll see what I mean.
But bafikkala ba PF are abusing courts. Who has time to stand in courts to hear all these nonsense? Even Judges should protest for abusing them like dog, SWA SWA SWA? Judges need bit those PF leaders.
What about the manhood? Unless alibe, we would ask the guy why he call a water well or bole hole, seriously speaking if you claiming he is tonga, then he didn’t commit any offense at all, he simply said this bole hole you voted for is the causer, he didn’t mention this bole hole by name, and since a lot of bole holes stood for president, you can’t say he was talking bole hole X or bole hole Z. these pf are just creating unnecessary court case traffic jams, especially with judges with the evil spirit of adjournments, this is not good for the country.
Indeed why mention his tribe? Why are we being shallow minded as Zambians? Is it a sin to be a Tonga? Let’s be real guys.
LT please answer the question of why mentioning his tribe? This is bad for Zambia. Would it be different if he was bemba or besa? Please whoever is reporting or whoever is arresting tribe should not be included at anytime and all the time
LT, you really are petty and useless, if not tribal!!!
Lusaka Times has gone tribal why mention the tribe
For all those complaining about the mentioning of a tribe, YOU DON’T GET IT! THIS IS THE NEW ZAMBIA UNDER LUNGU. TRIBAL PERSECUTION AND INTOLERANCE IS REAL. Even Lungu himself was mentioning Tongas and Lozis at a funeral in Chinsali. PF is obsessed with tribe. You can’t run away from that.
Some of these pre-independence laws we inherited from our colonialists must be revised. They were necessary and proper that time. We have democracy today, unlike Kingship or colonial masters who expected nothing less than absolute loyalty. People did not have an option when it came to choosing leader’s.
This is a straightforward washout case. No name was mentioned and somebody who was voted for is not necessarily the winner. I feel insulted by this Tonga man from Gwembe Valley because I voted for Bo Muliokela. Is it really true that the one I voted for, Bo Muliokela, is the causer of 75% electricity tariff increase and the impending fuel increase?
While I never insult our Head of State, even though I disagree on many points that the government is taking, I still find it ridiculous to be so focussed on such petty cases. We want people brought up to courts for corruption and not because one is a tonga. Shame !!. Leave that poor guy alone.
Some of it is just a komboni language that people are used to and this poor guy might not have had the intention to insult.
We have worse people on this forum, but even we have more serious issues that to engage in this styopet cases.
What has tribe got to do with it?
Don’t pretend. PF has always been about tribe. Since 2011 elections when over 90% of PF candidates were northerners, tribe is the only defining characteristic in Zambia. You even now have a Minister stating in public that qualifications should not be the basis for recruitment of civil servants. Instead PF are using tribe as basis for recruitment and dismissal of civil servants.
It is really laughable how the President in Zambia is almost sacred.
That word is akin to ‘hello’ in Zambia now. Let the poor guy go..maybe just one lash on the bum for the heck of it.
He’s been unmasked!! It’s NEZ.
Kaizer Zulu physically assaulted and insulted a police officer, still investigating? Bollocks! Unless they prove that the president has no manhood.
Too much oppression in the country.
DUMB! We are busy experiencing some real court issues and all you can bring up and focus on is this case..??SMH Zambians lets be serious
Let’s just legalize these things. We are using the wrong statutes from the colonial era. Too many innocent suspects in our cells for trivial offences. By citing the alleged insult, we are also inadvertently insulting. Let’s just take the gloves off.
It’s time this law was done away with. In Nsenga there is a saying that “Ufumu niku chungu”…meaning leadership is a rubbish pit where people through all kind of rubbish at. If you choose leadership, you should accept rubbish that people through at you. It’s usually the common person’s way of venting and has no consequence on the person in leadership, therefore it is a waste of time and resources to to arrest and take people to court for this. Remember how people called Chiluba, Mwanawasa, Rupiah Banda, Michael Sata all kinds of names. It is a package of leadership. The common person’s way of venting should not be shuffled with.
Well said! WORD.
Since when did you start publishing all the originality details of the accused. Lusaka Times you have contributed hugely to tribal divisiveness seen today.
Don’t blame LT. PF have been at it since 2011. In the last 6 months, 58 Tongas, Lozis and NWPers have been fired from State House for being their tribes. And these are not old people who needed to be retired (instead, they are young people in their 20s and 30s being retired in the national interest!) Let Lungu deny it.
…stiffled with.
Useless Laws so how has the insult changed Chagwas life ?? He probably isn’t even aware of this case. FOOLS
AT SOME POINT I WISH ZAMBIA WAS IRAQ OR EVEN USA.
SUCH PEOPLE WOULD REALLY KISSING THE DUST.
3/4 of the adults in the States would be locked up if they had such an oppressive law
What has tribe got to do with his case in court?
It has under PF. It is not the evidence that’s important. It is the origin of the person.
This tribe feasts too much on insults. From their tribal leader who was recently found with the case of insulting the police to the online bloggers right here on LT, insulting is normal to them. That’s why you can not fail to identify who a tonga is. Just by reading the comments about and below you will notice that the ones with insulting language are posted by tongas . what a tribe.
Names start with H, even Hichilema their party CEO insulted police. He needs more spray kuntweno.
You are genocide instigators. Don’t blame anybody else for the consequences of your behaviour.
Useless
HH oval Head, twawakwata!
Please, let’s concentrate on major issues on how to develop Zambia. Not this minor useless stories from compounds.. Yaba …
Attention, the editor of Lusaka Times
With all the due respect, please, you must edit items with negative stereotypes that offend particular ethnic groups in this case your journalist who authored the above news item has offended all Tonga people. I am positioned to provide evidence in which offensive items in your online paper are not censored when it is abundantly evident that your online paper reduces a people to mere objects. It cannot be accepted that you must continue insulting an ethnic group because the so-called civilised ethnic groups normalise abnormal opinions as if there are caste on stones. We will take legal actions against your online paper. Tonga people must treated with dignity. A suspect must be tried by a court of law with dignity. The concept of Tonga must not be…
Tonga people must be treated with dignity. A suspect must be tried by a court of law with dignity. The concept of Tonga must not be cited with contempt by any person. In this particular matter a citizen has been accused of using vulgar language against another person who is a head of the state. This does not necessarily connote that the accused person committed the alleged offence. Previously, on e of your journalists indicated that ‘facts’ in HH case are that… A prosecutor or a defense attorney can claim that he/she has facts in his/her possession.
However, a court has to exhibit neutrality by emphasizing that the evidence placed/tendered before court is such that… in lieu of employing a term called ‘facts’. This implies to the print and electronic media, as well as members of the general public. Stop throwing or using concepts unnecessarily because you are flouting human rights. Thank you.
Thanks to my late President Sata who understood it well that insele malumbo ku bu bemba. Only people with complex and personality disorders will pau attention to such minor open marker isults.
Go to Soweto Market and record how many insults are produced in a day towards politicians due to marginalization. Mu ka kwanisha uku twala ku court. How do you expect people to be polite with low blood sugar due to lack og proper diet? Insala kutu watukana the whole day…
The president needs to be insulted if resources are misused for such petty “offenses”.
me i call him a rat everyday. Why dont they come for me at the upnd offices. ****** kakwe lungu. go tell him i said so. mukongo yakwe
Scrap this archaic law, let the Police devote their time to deal with real issues of crime
What has his tribe got to do with the alleged insults he uttered? Does tribe matter when it comes to the offense one is accused of? What is this country coming to, if all we see is tribe? Why do some people treat tribe like some academic or professional qualification – something to be proud of?