Mahere threatens to sue Kudzayi over ‘defamatory’ adultery allegations
Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere has threatened to sue former Zimpapers staffer Edmund Kudzayi over a story in which he alleged that she is having an affair with top businessman Tinashe Murapata leading to the collapse of the latter’s marriage.
Through her lawyers, Honey and Blanckenberg, Mahere claims the story was published by an online publication, Kukurigo, reportedly run by Kudzayi.
The publication revealed pictures of the two at a funeral of the late law expert Alex Magaisa and others at different places. Kudzayi alleged that Mahere’s WhatsApp messages asking for money are what exposed the claimed affair before Murapata’s wife dumped the marriage last year February.
But Mahere has since dismissed the allegations and demanded a retraction within 24 hours, failure of which she said she will be taking a legal action.
“There is a clear implication in the published story as well as your tweets leading up to such publication, to the effect that our client was involved in an affair with a married man which resulted in the breakdown of his marriage,” Mahere’s lawyers said.
“Such untruths have the effect of harming our client’s character as well as her professional and personal reputation. For the avoidance of doubt, it is categorically denied that our client has had an affair with any married man, or that she is responsible for the breakdown of any marriage.
“To that end, we are instructed to demand, as we hereby do, that you publish a retraction of the story and clarify on both your Twitter and through the Kukurigo platform that there is no evidence that our client had an affair with the named individual, nor is there any evidence that she was in any way involved in the breakdown of his marriage, which marriage was-according to your reports-terminated more than 18 months ago.
“The same should be published within 24 hours of receipt of this letter, failing which we have instructions to institute legal action against you.”
Kudzayi has, however, made it clear that he will not retract his tweet.
“There will be no retraction. The story is factual, and much more is coming. Your worn and tired abuse of litigation, to gag the truth to cover your sexual improprieties which have destroyed marriages has gone too far and must stop; the power of truth telling will stop it,” he said defiantly.
Writing on Nehanda Radio last week, journalist Grace Kwinjeh in her article “Sexualisation of Female Politicians – The unacceptable attacks against Mahere and Mamombe” argued that the attacks against Mahere “are not only diabolic but very unfortunate.”
“There is a background to this, in a deeply entrenched patriarchal society, in which powerful women who have a voice, suffer incredible attacks in order to cow them into silence.
“‘kumupa size.’ Some men brag after attacking a female. In order to redirect attention, when losing an argument men turn to sexual objectification.
“Furthermore, so ridiculous are these attacks that an elected Member of Parliament (MP), Joana Mamombe, was again sexually attacked during her ongoing trial last week, but, nobody noticed what had just happened.
“More tragic that democrats found humour in the attack.
“Preposterous and totally unacceptable that Assistant Inspector Tevedzera Shonhai, should stand before a full courtroom and confess to stalking Mamombe, because, “I know the accused (Mamombe) because I used to follow her when she was a Member of Parliament (MP) and she is actually good looking.”
“Democrats gleefully received this statement, with some media houses printing cop ‘shoots his shot’ at Mamombe. Trivialising the political abuse she is experiencing as she should not be in the court to start with,” Kwinjeh wrote.
