CAESAR MBEWE writes
A FEMALE marketeer of Garden House area has dragged her colleague to court for defamation after she called her a prostitute and wants compensation.
Beatrice Ndalama, 42, was sued by her fellow marketeer, Astridah Chabala, 42, of the same locality for calling her a prostitute in public without cause or proof.
Particulars of the offence are that on April 11 Chabala was on her way to an Airtel booth to send money to her husband who was working out of town when she met Ndalama.
Chabala said shortly after Ndalama greeted her, she started insulting her for no apparent reasons.
She told court how her colleague began to insult her after she nicely said hi to her to the extent of even getting physical.
“We sell consumables at the same market. We are not that close but she normally buys chickens from me, so we talk here and there,
“But I was shocked this time when I said hi on the way she busted into insults and even got physical. She even pushed off her husband who tried to hold her and break the fight,” said Chabala..
In her defence, Ndalama denied ever insulting or getting physical with Chabala as she was never at the market when the reported fight took her place.
Ndalama told the caught that Chabala followed her home and started pointing at her while making signs of chopping her head off with a whisky bottle which was in her hands.
“I’m not a friend of this woman but my husband bought some chickens from her and we paid in full but she has continued to come to my place looking for my husband and insulting me whenever we bypass and this time when she insulted me I decided to defend myself” Ndalama said.
Magistrate Esther Mulomba found Ndalama guilt of defamation after a witness who happened to be the market chairman testified that indeed Ndalama insulted Chabala as she a record of such behavior at the market.
The court ordered her to apologise and compensate Chabala with K400 as part of her punishment and further warned Ndalama to never insult anyone in public as doing so was a serious offence.
