Source: Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa faces arrest – NewsDay Zimbabwe March 29, 2018
GRAIN Millers Association of Zimbabwe chairman, Tafadzwa Musarara, has approached the court seeking former ZiFM Stereo’s programmes manager, Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa’s incarceration for allegedly defying a court order compelling her to apologise for defaming the businessman.
BY CHARLES LAITON
Musarara said he is seeking a 60-day incarceration for Parirenyatwa, after she deliberately refused to apologise on a social media platform she had used to defame him.
In 2016, Musarara filed a $200 000 defamation lawsuit against Parirenyatwa.
The respondent had claimed on social media that she had not invited Musarara to her programme where she interviewed #ThisFlag founder, Evan Mawarire. Parirenyatwa’s statement resulted in the public attacking Musarara instead.
However, when the parties appeared before High Court judge, Justice Helena Charewa last November, Parirenyatwa pleaded with Musarara not to pursue the litigation and offered to publicly apologise on the same social media platform, leading to a deed of settlement.
“I gave the respondent (Parirenyatwa) my ear and because of the heart rendering explanation, I agreed to the respondent’s proposal for an amicable resolution of the matter. On November 2, 2017 I entered into a deed of settlement with the respondent, which culminated in an order by consent of the parties,” Musarara said.
“In terms of the deed of settlement, the respondent was to issue an apology in the words specified therein within a period of seven days. The respondent has not issued out the apology. She has instead opened a new account on the Twitter platform with a viewership of 75 people on which she purportedly apologised. The Twitter account she had used to defame me had a 33 000 viewership or followers at the time of the delict complained of. The respondent has effectively refused to comply with an order of court which order she consented to.”
Musarara said on the day in question, Parirenyatwa sent him a message from her work designated mobile number, asking him to call her back and when he did, she invited him to be a guest on the programme called The Platform, which also featured Mawarire.
Musarara said after the interview, Parirenyatwa’s Twitter statement was “wrongful, false and malicious” and intentionally designed to make him be perceived by the general public as a bully, who budged into her studio uninvited.
The matter is yet to be set down for hearing.
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