By DELPHINE ZULU –

TWO people have appeared in court for illegally manufacturing and selling a drug they claimed cures HIV/AIDS.
Mendez Fernandez, 39, a Lusaka businessman of Chalala Township, appeared with a co-accused Pauline Favour Kamanga for manufacturing a drug called Topvein, a herbal drug, without a pharmaceutical licence.
They are facing five counts of manufacturing, marketing, advertising, supplying and selling the drug without a permit.
Between October, 2013 and May 14, 2014, the two unlawfully manufactured the Topvein drug, breaching the law.
Fernandez was said to have marketed the drug through the internet without authorisation from the Medicines Regulatory Authority in adverts carried between October, 2013 and June 4, this year.
Fernandez further abrogated the law by advertising Topvein in the same period on a web-link, www.aidscurefound.com.
The accomplice, Kamanga, on May 15, last year unlawfully supplied two bottles of the drug to Makomani Siyanga without marketing authorisation by the Medicines Regulatory Authority of Zambia.
The two appeared for plea before Lusaka Magistrate Humphrey Chitalu yesterday but plea could not be taken as Kamanga was absent from the proceedings.
The State indicated that both accused persons were on bail and had difficulties to locate Kamanga’s whereabouts but promised to ensure that a fresh summons would be delivered to her before the end of the week.
The matter was adjourned awaiting plea on Friday, this week.