News / National
Jonathan Moyo dares Tsvangirai suspended aide - 'let's meet in court'
14 Aug 2017 at 07:08hrs | Views
ZANU-PF politburo member and Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo has refused to apologise over his alleged offensive remarks to suspended MDC-T deputy treasurer-general, Charlton Hwende and challenged him to a legal contest.
Hwende last week threatened to file a $1 million lawsuit against Moyo if the minister fails to apologise for statements posted on his Twitter account insinuating that the MDC-T officials was involved in the intra-party violence that occurred at the party's Bulawayo provincial offices.
But Moyo, in another tweet yesterday, declared that he was ready to face off with Hwende in court.
"Violence does not pay. See you in court $1m dreamer," tweeted Moyo in response to Hwende's threat to sue him for $1 million.
Moyo's defiance comes at a time MDC-T national deputy youth leader, Shakespear Mukoyi, has also threatened to sue both State-owned Herald and Moyo over the same remarks.
"We have been instructed to demand that you retract your statement on the same forum and with the same prominence as you gave the initial article within the next five days," part of Mukoyi's letter of demand reads.
"We have also been instructed that you issue a public apology for demeaning our client, whom you wrongly identified in the said picture."
Mukoyi also demanded that Zimbabwe Newspapers, the publishers of The Herald, retracts its article published on August 8 written under the headline Tsvangirai dispatched thugs to Bulawayo.
The youth leader said the article inferred that he was also involved in the skirmishes, which left MDC-T vice-president, Thokozani Khupe, chairman, Lovemore Moyo and organising secretary, Abednico Ncube injured.
Mukoyi's lawyers claimed that their client was not in Bulawayo on the day in question.
"Your article is highly defamatory, as it carries that our client is a thug, is of violent disposition, a puppet of low moral fibre that can be hired to do evil things and that he cannot accepts political viewpoints different from his," the letter reads.
"Such retraction and apology should be made within the next five days, failure of which we have instructions to initiate legal proceedings for defamation of character."
Hwende last week threatened to file a $1 million lawsuit against Moyo if the minister fails to apologise for statements posted on his Twitter account insinuating that the MDC-T officials was involved in the intra-party violence that occurred at the party's Bulawayo provincial offices.
But Moyo, in another tweet yesterday, declared that he was ready to face off with Hwende in court.
"Violence does not pay. See you in court $1m dreamer," tweeted Moyo in response to Hwende's threat to sue him for $1 million.
Moyo's defiance comes at a time MDC-T national deputy youth leader, Shakespear Mukoyi, has also threatened to sue both State-owned Herald and Moyo over the same remarks.
"We have been instructed to demand that you retract your statement on the same forum and with the same prominence as you gave the initial article within the next five days," part of Mukoyi's letter of demand reads.
Mukoyi also demanded that Zimbabwe Newspapers, the publishers of The Herald, retracts its article published on August 8 written under the headline Tsvangirai dispatched thugs to Bulawayo.
The youth leader said the article inferred that he was also involved in the skirmishes, which left MDC-T vice-president, Thokozani Khupe, chairman, Lovemore Moyo and organising secretary, Abednico Ncube injured.
Mukoyi's lawyers claimed that their client was not in Bulawayo on the day in question.
"Your article is highly defamatory, as it carries that our client is a thug, is of violent disposition, a puppet of low moral fibre that can be hired to do evil things and that he cannot accepts political viewpoints different from his," the letter reads.
"Such retraction and apology should be made within the next five days, failure of which we have instructions to initiate legal proceedings for defamation of character."
Source - newsday
