High Court judge, Justice Felistas Chatukuta has ruled in favour of Nyakutombwa Mugabe Legal Counsel and ordered former Zanu PF secretary for administration, Didymus Noel Mutasa, to pay $26 919 in legal fees.
Source: Court orders Mutasa to pay legal fees – NewsDay Zimbabwe December 1, 2016
BY CHARLES LAITON
The law firm had last month filed a chamber application at the High Court seeking a default judgment against Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo and newly-elected Norton MP, Temba Mliswa, who had not filed opposition to summons issued against them in September this year.
Part of the order issued by Justice Chatukuta on Monday read: “Whereupon, after reading documents filed of record, it is ordered that the first defendant (Mutasa) be and is, hereby, ordered to pay the plaintiff the sum of $26 919, 25, interest on the above amount at the prescribed rate calculated from the date of issue of summons to the date of full and final payment and costs of suit.”
Although Gumbo and Mliswa were cited as second and third respondents respectively, the order was silent on them.
The three were expelled by Zanu PF in 2014 and 2015 on allegations of attempting to remove President Robert Mugabe from power, acting in cahoots with former vice-president Joice Mujuru.
They then approached the law firm and engaged it for the provision of several legal services related to their expulsion from the party. The services included challenging the expulsion both in the High Court and the Constitutional Court.
However, the legal firm said when the three realised their actions were not successful, they allegedly became evasive and despite numerous meetings and demands for settlement of fees, no payment was ever made.
“Despite demand, the defendants have failed, refused or neglected to make payments,” they said, urging the court to grant a default judgment.
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