By Daily Revelation Reporter
Honeybee Pharmacy Limited lawyer Tutwa Ngulube has written the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) demanding that it retracts threats and what he has termed as untrue statements made against his client to the general public.
And Ngulube has also written the Zambia Medicines and Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) demanding for immediate retraction of threats against Honeybee Pharmacy Limited.
According to a demand letters dated January 12, 2021, Ngulube stated that ZABS has continued to utter false remarks to the general public that his client supplied medication and other medical related products that are defective.
He stated that based on condition 9.1 (c) of the contract between the Ministry of Health and his client, as well as the acceptance certificate from Medical Stores Limited, issued in favour of Honeybee Pharmacy Limited, it was clear that the goods were proper and fit and subjected to standardized testing by the procuring entity.
Ngulube argued that if the medical supplies were defective, it was not at the moment of supply or hands of Honeybee Pharmacy Limited as they supplied proper goods as the evidence indicates.
“In the premise, we write to advise you that you have a legal duty to protect our client’s reputation and not drag it through unfounded claims. Without further delay as per instruction from our clients, we demand for a public apology, retraction and halt of the statements you have made known to the general public about the medical supplied by our client within the next 48 hours. We shall not hesitate to commence costly legal proceedings against yourselves,” Ngulube stated.
In another letter dated January 12, addressed to ZAMRA, Ngulube stated that Honeybee Pharmacy Limited informed him that persuant to special condition 9.1(c) of the contract, the goods contracted to be sold were subjected to a test and confirmation procedure and the same were accepted by Medical Stores Limited by issuance of an acceptance certificate under invoice no 051 and 052.
He stated that his client further informed him that ZAMRA acting on an unscientific speculations had resorted to issuing disparaging statements against Honeybee Pharmacy Limited.
Ngulube referred to a statement which appeared in the News Diggers online publication on September 17, 2020 under the heading “ZAMRA orders Honeybee to recall damaged paracetamol.”
“We must hasten to mention from the onset that your organization was not party to the contract herein and as such all the rules against privity of contract are totally against you. We write to advise you have an inescapable and inexcusable obligation under the law to respect our client’s reputation as the converse amounts to breach of law whose consequences are dire,” Ngulube stated.” “In the premise, we have been instructed to demand as we do that you issue a public apology and retract the statement published within 48 hours in default of which, we shall commence legal proceedings against you whose ghastly costs you will be compelled to bear.”
Ngulube also represented dismissed Health minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya in the corruption allegations he was facing before the courts