Witch remark lands friend in trouble

Written by on June 19, 2019

MUTINTA MULAYE writes

@SUNZAMBIAN

THE Boma Local Court in Lusaka has ordered a woman of John Laing to compensate her friend with K200 for tarnishing her name by accusing her of being a witch who killed her child.

This was in a case in which Thandiwe Nkhata, 32, sued Esnart Jere, 37, and wanted the court to teach her how to behave towards her friends.

Nkhata told Senior Local Court Magistrate Contilda Kamono that Jere was her friend and they sold their merchandise at the same place in town.

She told the court that one day Jere threatened that they would fight one day because she was not speaking well to her customers.

 “I told her that was a small issue and it was not something worth fighting about. She told me ‘after all ndiwe unani paila na mwana, ndiwe mfwiti unanani dyela mwana anafa.” She said

Nkhata said since then, people had been laughing at her because they believed she was a witch and she was not free to sell her merchandise in town.

‘People are even laughing and clapping and shouting ‘eh mfwiti! Mfwiti!’ even my customers laugh when I’m passing,

“Whenever we quarrel, she brings the issue of her late child and tells people that I killed that child. I don’t want her to pay me or for her to go to prison but I just want the court to counsel her,’ Nkhata said.

In defence Jere t told the court that in 2014 after she differed with Nkhata, she went home and delivered prematurely a baby at 6 months.

She said they were supposed to be twins but the baby girl died.

The court found that defamation of character happened as Jere confirmed that she called Nkhata a witch and justified her reasons.

Magistrate Kamono ordered Jere to compensate Nkhata with K200 only because she had refused to be paid any monies.


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