- J8 P171 named persons. They point out that at trial the appellant admitted that he knew and met Hon. Sokontwe. That it was also proven at trial that the other persons alleged to have been at the meeting were former Ministers and Members of Parliament known to the appellant. That the appellant admitted at trial that there was nothing wrong meeting them. That being the case, they argue that the allegation that the appellant had in fact met with people that he ordinarily associated with, cannot be said to be defamatory. They argue that the appellant himself underscored the point that there was no defamation when he testified that his niece Miselo of Chirundu, phoned him and jokingly asked if he had become a politician. And when he further testified that people phoned him believing that he had joined politics. They argue that Zambia being a democratic country, it is not defamatory of a man to allege that he has been in a private meeting with politicians or has become involved in politics. It was also Counsel’s argument that the article published by the 1st respondent was a fair comment on a matter of public interest. They point out that the 1st respondent was reporting the reaction of Hon. Sokontwe to his expulsion from the M.M.D. that the defence of fair comment enables any member of the public to comment fairly on matters of public interest. That the article regarding Hon. Sokontwe was one of national nature and therefore,