LATE former President Edgar Lungu’s son Dalitso has threatened to take legal action against Prime Television Limited but in the meantime, he is demanding an apology and K5million compensation for mental distress and reputational harm.

Dalisto is unhappy that the private TV station aired a programme quoting former Minister of Education Nkandu Luo claiming that he had been summoned by the Drug Enforcement Commission(DEC), when the same was false.

The alleged misinformation comes at a time when the country is observing six days of national mourning for late President Lungu who died, June 5, in South Africa after an illness.

Professor Luo was quoted having said that Dalisto called his parents to inform them that DEC had summoned him to their offices.

In the broadcast published on Prime TV Facebook page, the former cabinet minister is wondering how Dalisto could be summoned at a time of grieving adding “have we lost it as a nation”.

But through a demand letter to Prime TV, Dalisto’s lawyers, Malisa & Partners, have dismissed Prof Luo’s sentiments as false and published maliciously during a time their client was in personal grief having lost his father barely a week prior.

“…the timing and tone of the publication suggest a deliberate attempt to exploit a moment of mourning for sensational purposes, thereby compounding our client’s emotional distress and tarnishing his dignity.

“Our client reiterates that on the material day, he was never summoned, interrogated or even contacted by the Drug Enforcement Commission on any matter whatsoever. In our client’s view, your broadcast was false, reckless and malicious, and constituted a gross violation of journalistic ethics, as well as your duty to ensure accuracy and fairness of information disseminated to the public,” the demand letter reads in part.
The lawyers complained that consequently, the said broadcast subjected Dalisto to undue public scrutiny and caused him significant embarrassment, reputational damage and mental anguish.

They now demand that the TV station issues a written and televised apology to their client, which will be circulated on the TV channel and other associated digital media platforms.

Further, they demand an immediate unreserved public retraction of the false claims.