HARARE – High Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire ordered author Petina Gappah to pay former Mt Pleasant MP Fadzayi Mahere US$18,000 in damages for defamatory remarks she made on X (formerly Twitter) in September 2018.
A public spat on Twitter saw Gappah make allegations about Mahere’s university admissions and personal life, which Mahere denied and sued Gappah for US$1 million, citing harm to her career.
Gappah issued an apology letter, retracting her statements and offering a donation to a charity of Mahere’s choice.
Mahere’s legal team, however, deemed the apology insincere since Gappah did not publicly concede that her statements were false.
The case has seen several twists, including Gappah’s unsuccessful recusal application against Justice Mafusire.
This led to a reduction of the damages claim from US$1 million to US$50,000.
Justice Mafusire ordered Gappah to pay Mahere US$18,000 in damages, plus interest at 5% per annum from the date of judgment to payment, and Mahere’s costs of suit. The payment can be made in local currency at the prevailing exchange rate.
“I determine that the plaintiff is entitled to her costs but not on the higher scale. My reason for this is that whilst the defamatory statements by the defendant were vile and persistent, the stiff award of damages above has been in recognition of that factor, among others.
“Furthermore, the defendant lost all the interlocutory applications with costs being awarded against her there and then. None were held over for determination later as is sometimes done,” read part of the ruling.
“In the recusal application, the costs were awarded on the higher scale. There is no reason to mulct the defendant any further. Lastly, the plaintiff’s summons was not issued in October 2020, but in October 2018 when the monetary regime in place was different from the one-to-one ratio referred to by her. So it cannot have been the reason for the initially inflated claim.
“However, whilst the plus petitio principle is relevant, it has had little sway in this matter because I have considered that there are really no special circumstance to warrant a departure from the general rule about costs. In the result, the following order is hereby made,
“The defendant shall pay the plaintiff the sum of US$18000 [eighteen thousand United States dollars), or the equivalent thereof in local currency at the rate of exchange prevailing at the time of payment.
“The defendant shall pay interest on the above amount at the prescribed rate, namely 5% per annum from the date of judgment to the date of payment.
“The defendant shall pay the plaintiff’s costs of suit.
