WINDHOEK – One of the finalists in the Miss Namibia 2013 pageant is suing the former editor of The Villager newspaper, Corry Ihuhua, and his former employer Omalaeti Productions over a ‘defamatory’ teaser on their Facebook page.
According to the teaser Zaphia Zenia Basson had a baby in Germany and she would explain everything in the next edition.
The story in the next edition was headlined “I have a godchild and not a child.”
According to court records Basson claims the Facebook teaser was made worse by the article and purported that she was dishonest and misrepresented herself to the organisers of the Miss Namibia beauty pageant.
She filed a suit claiming N$200 000 in damages. Ihuhua and Omalaeti are opposing the suit.
Basson already lost the first round in the legal battle when Judge Kobus Miller dismissed an exception she lodged against the group’s plea.
In the plea Omalaeti and Ihuhua claimed the article was not defamatory and was in the interest of the public. According to them the follow-up article explained the teaser and that Basson was given a chance to comment.
Judge Miller did not give reasons for his decision, but indicated that his reasons would be made known later.
No date was as yet set for the hearing and Basson was represented by Petrus Elago from the law firm Tjombe-Elago.