Immediate past Zesco Limited board chairperson Mbita Chitala’s recently published book ‘Corporate Capture: The Political Economy of Electricity Management in Zambia (How Not to Manage a State Enterprise)’, has invited a defamation lawsuit against the author.
The Copperbelt Energy Corporation is unhappy with some of the contents in the book and has since dragged Dr Chitala to the High Court seeking damages for defamation.
The energy company contends that the defendant should be answerable for claiming that it had colluded with influential individuals between 2014 and 2021 to disadvantage ZESCO in the power supply business.
It complains in its statement of claim that Dr Chitala accused it of not respecting the Bulk Supply Agreement between it and ZESCO.
Further, Dr Chitala, in the book, alleged that CEC wantonly stopped supplying electricity to domestic customers but instead concentrated on channeling power to mining companies.
CEC contends that allegations leveled against it in the book mean that the plantiff is engaged in bad corporate governance.
It now wants the High Court to compel Dr Chitala to pay exemplary damages for defamtion and any other reliefs the court may deem fit.
After the book was published, CEC, in January this year issued a statement expressing its displeasure over some revelations against it in the piece.
I stand with Mbita and there’s nothing wrong with his revelations. Mbita is brave and must be supported.
Let us if one minister wants to abuse the courts or the courts will maintain impartility
No one has time for this nonsense. Let us concentrate on fighting upnd and it’s incompetent leadership
There’s something dark about CEC.
It is a tall order, as tall as ZESCO pylons.The author can sleep easy. This is not going anywhere. CEC must show PROOF that it suffered actual damage from the book’s contents. The defendent does not need to say anything. The court will want to see HOW this has injured CEC.
Derrick chi?ala you were board chairman of zesco so why didn’t you raise all these allegations then? You had to wait until you are fired so you can write a book about it?
Derrick Chitala, his impulsiveness and at times not so fully researched outbursts have been his maverick hallmark. He is usually too quick to think he knows it all. For that he misses opportunities to be taken seriously. He has a point but he needs help to package it.
A company or corporation cannot be defamed. An individual from there may be.