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chief’s homestead as reported by a local daily.
Cde Kaukonde, through his representative, has lodged a complaint to NewsDay, which he copied to the Zimbabwe Media Commis-sion.
NewsDay on Thursday May 19 published a story claiming that Cde Kaukonde had admitted burning a chief’s homestead during the 2008 elections.
This is the second complaint to be issued to the newspaper group after Defence Minister Emmerson Mnan-gagwa wrote to the ZMC over a story that claimed that service chiefs had ordered President Mugabe to relinquish power and appoint a successor.
In his letter, Cde Kaukonde denied that he confessed that he was behind the torching of the chief’s homestead in 2008, that he threatened to burn the homestead of Zanu-PF legislator Cde Edgar Mbwem-bwe for sympathising with the MDC-T and that the chief charged at him before being restrained by some Central Committee members.
The story also claimed Cde Kaukonde accused Cde Mbwembwe of inviting the European Union into his area. The paper claimed that Cde Kaukonde also accused Zanu-PF’s district co-ordinating committee of failing to take over council from the MDC-T saying he would invite soldiers to put up structures in the district.
However, Cde Kaukonde’s representative Ms Constance Marima said the report was inaccurate, malicious and damaging to his integrity, reputation and person as a businessman, politician and family man.
“Mr Kaukonde is a law abiding citizen whose track record speaks for itself. At no point was he involved in the torching of Chief Mutekedza’s homestead or a scuffle with the chief as reported by your correspondent.
“The alleged confession reported by your correspondent is also a figment of his imagination. Sadly, his imaginative skills which should have no place in journalism where facts are sacred have come at a huge cost to Mr Kaukonde in terms of integrity and reputation in business and in politics which have been seriously undermined,” she said.
Ms Marima denied that Cde Kaukonde threatened to burn Cde Mbwembwe’s homestead saying these were outright lies. “The story has portrayed Mr Kaukonde as both an arsonist and a violent person with no respect for traditional chiefs and those who hold political beliefs that contradict his,” she said.
Ms Marima said the story projected Cde Kaukonde as a criminal who should be arrested and that he abuses State machinery such as the army.
Cde Kaukonde requested a retraction or take appropriate litigation in the courts.
NewsDay yesterday reported that further investigations had revealed that the allegations were false and thus retracted the story.