Mphoko revives $50 million suit against Daily News

Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko has revived his $50 million defamation suit against the Daily News through an application to have a default judgment entered against him rescinded.

According to media reports, the VP is claiming damages amounting to $50 million from Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), the publisher of The Daily News, over a report claiming that he was "a sellout" and "enriched himself with the blood of the people of this country".

Mphoko sued the newspaper arguing the article was defamatory and demanded compensation from the paper for libel.

In March this year, the High Court threw out the claim after VP Mphoko failed to turn up for a pre-trial conference.

The claim arose from a June 5 2015, article published under the headline: "Mphoko was a sellout: Sibanda".

It was quoting the former war veterans' leader Jabulani Sibanda.

The article complained of said in part: "Fearless former war veterans' leader Jabulani Sibanda claims that VP Mphoko sold out during the liberation struggle when he allegedly diverted weapons meant for the late Joshua Nkomo's Zapu to President Mugabe's Zanu-PF, a move he says could have led to the needless death of thousands of people."

In his claim, VP Mphoko argued that he was branded a treasonous villain, who for his own benefit, clandestinely supplied apartheid South Africa with war material that was in turn supplied to Selous Scouts.

Selous Scouts were a Special Forces regiment of the Rhodesian army formed for specific purposes of clandestine elimination of Zanla and Zipra guerillas during the liberation war.

VP Mphoko's lawyer also asked for the article to be deleted from The Daily News website to prevent further damage to his reputation.