HARARE – Prominent Zimbabwean lawyer, Admire Rubaya, has demanded a retraction and apology from online news outlet Bulawayo24 over an article that falsely attributed statements to him regarding the arrest of Harare lawyer Tinashe Mutasa.
The article, titled “Harare Lawyer Arrested: Fraudulent Property Sale Scandal Unfolds,” claimed Rubaya made comments on behalf of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, implying he was the organisation’s president.
But the letter written by Rubaya’s lawyers, Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, to the publication stated that their client never made such comments and is not the president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe. Rumbidzai Matambo currently holds the position.
“To make matters worse you claimed that our client is the current President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, yet he is not the one.
“That was a grave misrepresentation as it purports that our client is or purports to be the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which he is not,” the lawyers stated.
“A reading of the article exposes the defamatory innuendo aimed at soiling our client, Mr Admire Rubaya’s name.
“Your article suggests to your readership and the world at large that our client, Mr. Admire Rubaya, masqueraded to you that he is now the President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.
“Your article clearly communicates falsehoods through attributing the comments to our client in circumstances where he never communicated with you or any of your reporters.”
The lawyers have also argued that the article was defamatory, damaging Rubaya’s reputation and goodwill. They have demanded a full unconditional retraction of the article, an expression of regret, and deletion of the story from Bulawayo24’s website within six hours.
The lawyers have also pointed out that a simple verification with Rubaya or the Law Society of Zimbabwe would have cleared up any confusion.
Rubaya’s lawyers said his client reserved a right to institute criminal charges against Bulawayo24’s personnel and to claim damages for defamation amounting to US$20,000.
“In the event that you fail to retract the defamatory statement as demanded, our client shall proceed to issue a summons and claim damages for defamation to the tune of US$20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand United States Dollars) without any further notice to you,” Rubaya’s lawyers said.
