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Threatened with a libel suit, the author of the offending piece, Charles Baptista (who writes under the pen name Edwin Hounnou), has now written a letter of apology admitting that there was no truth in the allegation, published on 15 May 2003, and that the fees owing have, in fact, been paid.
Hounnou claims he was induced into error by an article published in the weekly paper "Zambeze", and that his comments "were not intended to offend Dr Mangaze".
Hounnou said that he had no libelous intention when he wrote the piece, and asked for Mangaze's forgiveness.
"Mediafax" also said that "in publishing the opinion of Edwin Hounnou, we did so in the belief that he was writing with knowledge of the case"
Having verified, from Hounnou's own letter that this was not the case and that "his opinion piece contains falsehoods", the paper's editorial management also apologises, and regrets publication of the offending allegations.
Hounnou is establishing a track record for rushing into print with allegations that have no evidence.
After the December 2004 general elections, Hounnou, writing in "Zambeze", claimed that Francisco Machambisse, the national election agent for the main opposition party Renamo, failed to submit the party's appeal against the election results on time, because he had taken a bribe of US$1 million from the ruling Frelimo Party.
Machambisse sued Hounnou and "Zambeze", and when the case eventually came to court, in May 2007, Hounnou was found guilty and sentenced to six months imprisonment, converted to a fine at the rate of 20 meticais a day.
He was fined an additional 4,200 meticais, bringing the total to 7,800 meticals (about US$320).
A few weeks before the court case, Hounnou offered Machambisse an apology - which he refused.
The court awarded Machambisse damages of 80,000 meticals (US$3,200).
The fines and and the damages have not been paid, because the "Zambeze" director and editor at the time, Salomao Moyana and Lourenco Jossias respectively, appealed on the grounds that Hounnou had accepted full responsibility for the piece.
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