Journalist Edmund Kudzayi has rubbished the High Court’s default judgment awarding US$100,000 in damages to former legislator and lawyer Advocate Fadzayi Mahere, accusing her of perjury and alleging judicial misconduct by Justice Wamambo.
In a statement posted on X, Kudzayi claimed the ruling in “Mahere v Kudzayi” was procedurally flawed and based on a “demonstrable falsehood.”
He alleged that Mahere falsely swore in her condonation application that she had applied for a pre-trial conference when the case was struck off for inactivity.
According to Kudzayi, court records show no such application, and the required Rule 49 documents are absent, evidence he says proves fabrication. Wrote Kudzayi:
Mahere’s misrepresentation revived litigation the Court had twice struck off, leaving the ensuing default judgment a procedural shell built on perjury.
The defamation case stems from a 2022 article published on Kukurigo, a news platform reportedly run by Kudzayi, which alleged Mahere had an extramarital affair with businessman Tinashe Murapata.
Mahere denied the claims, arguing they were defamatory and violated her privacy. The High Court awarded her damages after Kudzayi failed to appear in court.
Kudzayi now accuses Justice Wamambo of aiding Mahere by ignoring a letter he sent in March warning that the proceedings were fraudulent.
He said the judge’s office signed for the letter but later claimed not to have read it. Said Kudzayi:
What sort of judge signs for a document and then professes ignorance of its contents? A shameless judge without honour.
He further alleged that Mahere was allowed to bypass a mandatory round-table meeting meant to define trial issues, another procedural lapse he says shielded her from scrutiny.
Kudzayi has vowed to file an urgent application for rescission, arguing that the judgment is void under the legal principle “fraus omnia vitiat”, fraud vitiates everything.
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