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VP aspirant fuming, threatens to sue unless firm says sorry

by Staff reporter
26 Oct 2014 at 10:08hrs | Views
ZIMBABWE'S former ambassador to Botswana and South Africa, Ambassador Phelekezela Mphoko, has demanded an urgent apology from Terridan Motors (Pvt) Ltd, after the company wrongfully linked him to a land ownership dispute involving a farm in Umguza District.

Ambassador Mphoko is threatening to take legal action against the motoring firm if it does not issue an apology within five days from Friday last week.

Terridan Motors, through their director, Mr Abslom Mukahiwa, last week filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court in which it cited Ambassador Mphoko, Umguza Rural District Council and National Fencing Company as respondents.

In his founding affidavit, Mr Mukahiwa cited Ambassador Mphoko, whom he accused of abuse of power, as the first respondent while Umguza RDC and National Fencing Company were second and third respondents respectively.

However, the former diplomat on Friday last week, distanced himself from the land wrangle, stating that the disputed land was allocated to his son, Siqokoqela, by the Umguza Rural District Council.

Ambassador Mphoko, through his lawyers Muzvuzvu and Mguni Legal Practitioners, on Friday wrote to Terridan Motors via their legal representative Majoko and Majoko Legal Practitioners, demanding a public apology to be flighted in all the publications that carried the initial story that implicated him in the land dispute.

In his letter, Ambassador Mphoko, who has expressed his interest in contesting the Zanu-PF Vice-Presidency argues that he was "wrongfully and maliciously cited" in the chamber application "without proper verification of facts" and that the stories that implicated him in the land dispute had tarnished his reputation as a public figure.

"Our client is a public figure, businessman, politician, philanthropist whose reputation and good standing in society has been tarnished by your client's misrepresentations.

"We have been instructed to demand, as we do hereby do, that your client, should flight a public apology in all the publications mentioned above, to Ambassador Mphoko, Choppies Zimbabwe, (Pvt) Limited and his family.

"Your client should give the apology the same prominence that it attracted in the Press for two consecutive days within the next five days of receipt of this letter, failure of which our client will sue for defamation," reads part of the letter.

Majoko and Majoko Legal Practitioners immediately responded to Ambassador Mphoko's letter on Friday, acknowledging their error in wrongfully citing the latter in the chamber application, but denied liability for implicating him in the land dispute.

Terridan Motors' lawyers are blaming Umguza RDC for bringing up Ambassador Mphoko's name as a way of intimidating their client into withdrawing their challenge to the local authority.

"It may interest you to know that our client did not dream up your client's involvement (directly or indirectly). Umguza Rural District Council threw your client's name (in vain it turns out) intending that our client quake in their boots at the mention of your client's name.

"The aim was obviously to cow our clients into withdrawing their challenge to the council's attempt to withdraw land lawfully allocated to them. The culprit here is council," reads part of the response.

In their response, Terridan Motors sounded reluctant to grant Ambassador Mphoko's request of an apology for the stories that linked him to the land dispute, arguing that the damage had been mitigated since all the publications had published the Ambassador's affidavit distancing himself from the land dispute.

They also argued that the Press was entitled to reporting court proceedings, and their clients had no control over what is published in the media as they did not grant an interview on what was published. Terridan Motors further demanded an explanation on how Choppies and Ambassador Mphoko's family were entitled to an apology when they were not mentioned in the urgent court application, and why the apology should run for two days.

The motoring company is accusing Umguza RDC of breach of contract, saying they had entered into a nine-year lease agreement with the local authority for the land in question Plot Number 13 Douglasdale in 2009 and the lease expires in August 2018.

Source - Sunday News