Court Orders Times Group to pay K50m to Chiponda
High Court has ordered Blantyre Newspaper Limited, Blantyre Printing and packaging limited and others to pay 50 million kwacha to Member of Parliament for Mulanje South George Chaponda because of defamation in maize gate scandal
Judge I.M Nedi has ruled so after Chaponda’s lawyers proposed a compensation of 350 million kwacha while the defendant said 5 million kwacha would be enough.
In the judgment the judge directed that the damages awarded should not be huge which will end up bankrupting the defendants as responsible media freedom is necessary in a democracy because it calls on public servants to account and should be protected by law as well as court
The court found Blantyre Newspapers Limited wrong in the articles which it published in exercise of its media freedom
Chaponda commenced the court proceedings against the group on libel and on 20th February 2022 Judge Dingiswayo Madise found the defendants liable
The claimant testified on his own behalf and called three other witnesses in the case
