Munir’s words were not hate speech – Ngwira
By Esther Chisola
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) member Chanoda Ngwira, 40, has told a Lusaka magistrates court that there was no hate speech in jailed former Lumezi member of Parliament Munir Zulu’s statement that people from Lumezi were more intelligent than those from Bwengwa.
Ngwira, a businessman, was testifying in the matter in which Zulu is charged with expressing or showing hatred, ridicule or contempt for persons because of race.
When the matter came up for continued defence before magistrate Amy Masoja, Ngwira testified that on March 28, 2024 while at Longacres he witnessed and heard that Zulu had been arrested and was being released.
He said while waiting for him at the police station, he heard Zulu saying he was a villager from Lumezi and that the villagers from Lumezi were more intelligent than those from Bweengwa.
“When I heard that statement, I did not make anything out of it. It was just a statement more like a comparison. After he said that people started jubilating saying that they did not know that they are such intelligent people from Lumezi than those from Bweengwa, if at all it exists and that was not hate speech,” he said.
During cross-examination, asked if he knew whether or not the people of Lumezi were more intelligent than those in Bweengwa, he responded in the affirmative.
And asked if the statement that people of Lumezi are more intelligent than those in Bweengwa excited him hence the jubilation, he responded in the affirmative.
“We jubilated because we discovered that we can actually get more help from the people of Lumezi because they are more intelligent. I got interested in the statement so that in future I can engage the people of Lumezi on my mango project,” Ngwira said.
Zulu’s lawyer, Nkula Bota, informed the court that the defence had closed the case.
The case comes up again on August 8 for fixing the date for judgement.
It is alleged that on March 28 last year in Lusaka, Zulu did utter the words. “I am a villager from Lumezi, but I can tell you that villagers from Lumezi are more intelligent than villagers from Bweengwa.”
The cited words allegedly showed hatred, ridicule or contempt against a group of persons, namely the villagers from Bweengwa.
