Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers) has been slapped with a $1,5 million lawsuit over allegations of defaming Shurugwi North MP Tapiwa Matangaidze in a story carried by The Sunday News.
CHARLES LAITON SENIOR REPORTER
Matangaidze’s lawyers Tsara and Associates Legal Practitioners yesterday wrote a letter to Zimpapers, outlining the nature of the lawsuit arising from a Sunday News article of May 4 2014, headlined MP Matangaidze in pub fight over a woman.
“The end-result is that your newspaper article is false, malicious and extremely defamatory.
“Your article has caused serious, irreparable political, social and economic damage to the reputation of our client,” the lawyers said.
“It has hurt his feelings, those of his family, friends and members of his constituency and good intending people of society in general.
“Our client has been injured in his reputation all the more because yours is a national paper that is widely distributed in the province.
“We are instructed to demand, as we hereby do, a full retraction of a prominence that is equal to the defamatory article herein complained of as well as a public apology and payment of the sum of $1,5 million in defamatory damages.”
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The lawyers said the headline by Sunday News, was understood by members of the public to mean Matangaidze was involved in a physical fight over a woman.
“Our client denies that he was involved in a pub fight, he had a fight over a woman, he snatched a woman from anyone, he was approached by the fictitious boyfriend to leave the woman alone, had a woman lover on the day in question or that he was imbibing at the night club,” the lawyers said.
“Should our client’s demands not be substantially met within seven days of the date of this letter, we shall be constrained to institute vigorous legal proceedings against yourselves until our client receives the relief that he deserves.”
