LUSAKA, Dec. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa has instructed his lawyers to sue opposition Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata for defaming him as corrupt, the official Zambia Daily Mail said on Sunday.

    Darlington Mwape, the president's special assistant for legal affairs, was quoted as saying that Sata has defamed the president by alleging that he is corrupt.

    A statement issued by Mwape Saturday said Sata had alleged on Radio Icengelo that the president had acquired eight farms and equipped them with combine harvesters and tractors since he came into office in early 2002.

    Fighting corruption has been a cornerstone of the New Deal Administration of president Mwanawasa. The fight has led to the arrests of many senior government and parastatal officials, including former president Frederick Chiluba.

    "The president finds these statements to be highly defamatory and were made in the context alleging corruption on the part of President Mwanawasa," said Mwape.

    Sata is not immediately available for comment as at the press time. Enditem