Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has filed a $3 million defamation suit against Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo on allegations emanating from a video presentation he made to the Zanu-PF Politburo on July 19, this year.
In the presentation, Prof Moyo alleged that VP Mnangagwa gave former broadcaster Mr Godfrey Majonga two options; to either sit on a hot stove or jump out of a flat after they allegedly clashed over a woman.
In court papers filed at the High Court on September 26, 2017, lawyers representing VP Mnangagwa, Dube, Manikai and Hwacha Commercial Law Chambers said the video was patently false and contains numerous fabricated stories targeted at damaging the reputation of the VP.
The lawyers argued that the allegations by Prof Moyo were scandalous and fallacious.
“All reference to the presentation and the video in these summons are made with regards to its reference to an incident involving Mr Godfrey Majonga, which include but not limited to the following, plaintiff attempted to murder Mr Majonga in 1987 and plaintiff forced Mr Majonga to either sit on a hot stove or alternatively jump from the window of the third floor of an undisclosed building in Harare.
“The video and presentation was authored, presented and provided by the defendant at the Politburo, and has since been circulated in whole or in part through the local newspapers, for example the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper edition of 11th-17th August 2017. It has also been circulated through electronic and social media platforms such as twitter, facebook and instagram.”
The lawyers submitted that the presentation and video were defamatory in that they impute upon the plaintiff criminal culpability for alleged criminal conduct and it baselessly imputes upon the character of plaintiff a propensity to engage in dishonourable conduct.
They further argued that their client’s political reputation was smeared both in Politburo and in the eyes of the general public who were made to believe that he was not only given to dishonourable conduct but that he had previously intentionally committed criminal conduct.
They said the general effect of the video and the presentation had the effect of lowering the plaintiff’s standing in the eyes of the Politburo and the general public.
“The damage caused to the plaintiff is continuing because the video continues to circulate through online newspaper publications as well as social media platforms, thereby perpetuating the harm that has been perpetrated on the plaintiff’s reputation,” said the lawyers.
“Despite demand by the plaintiff for defendant to retract statements made in the video against the plaintiff, and to offer an unqualified apology for the harm caused to the plaintiff, defendant has failed, refused and or neglected to do so. Defendant has left plaintiff with no choice other to approach this Honourable Court to seek damages for defamation.”
To this end, VP Mnangagwa is demanding US$3 million for defamation of character and with an interest of rate of 5 percent per annum from the date of judgment to the date of payment in full.” The Herald
