A SILOBELA woman is facing a $45 million lawsuit over a
defamatory statement she published on a public post in a Facebook group to
expose a couple that she claimed duped her of hard-earned cash and were
refusing to settle their debt.
Ms Loice Siziba of Canaan Village under Chief Gobo,
Silobela — will now have to defend the suit filed by Mr Given Mapukute and his
wife Ruramai Nhakuzah at the High Court, who are claiming to have their
reputation damaged and lost business because of the statement.
The suit against Siziba arose in February this year, when
she sent an offensive text message to the couple in an attempt to threaten them
to pay back her money amounting to between US$3 000 and US$4 000.
The text message reads: “Good morning, I’m done with your
nonsense I’m going to sort you guys out not nzira yelaw (not the legal way) coz
you seem to be stubborn.
“I’m going to go on and pay strongest sangoma
(witch-doctor) like Baba Banda you whole family will suffer. Please save this
message you will come for help (sic) it will be too late.”
It is alleged that Siziba last month caused the defamatory
statement to be published on the Facebook Group wall, styled “Verified 11
Exposing Zim shurugwis all over the world”.
In the claim filed at the High Court last week, the couple
is demanding $45 million from Siziba for her conduct and that she be compelled
to cause the defamatory statement pulled down from Facebook within 48hours of
the granting of the order.
According to the summons, the couple are asking the court
to grant them damages for defamation in the sum of $5million, actual loss of
business in the sum of $25 million and loss of future business $15 million plus
costs of suit.
Through their lawyers Muvingi and Mugadza Legal
Practitioners, the couple claimed that the woman’s Facebook group is a widely
distributed platform and available to the general public both in country and
across the entire world as it is available on the internet.
It is argued that Siziba’s defamatory statement made in the
public post stated that she entered into a business venture with Nhakuzah, but
the couple conned her of her money in the sum of US$3 000 to US$4 000 and that
they had victimised her by making a police report against her, yet they owed
her money, which they should pay back.
“The said words, in the context of the said defamatory
statement in the public post, are wrongful and defamatory of the plaintiffs
(couple) in that they were intended and were understood by readers of the post
to mean that plaintiffs are dishonest in that they venture into business with
innocent people, but defraud them of their hard earned cash,” read the summons.
The defamatory statement was made with the intention to
defame the couple and to injure their reputation, said the lawyers.
In addition, the lawyers say the defamatory statement has
been harmful towards the plaintiffs’ reputation, integrity and good name as
business people, who are well known both in their business circles and their
community.
It is argued that as a result of the said defamatory
statement being made on such a public platform, Mr Mapukute lost a tender worth
an equivalent value of the sum of $25 million, after the procurement committee
of the tender, during an assessment of suitability and investigation on him
came across the public post.
Further to that, couple claim that also risk losing future
business. “This is because, each time any person searches for couple’s names on
Facebook, the post is the first post that pops up on the
Facebook newsfeed,” said the couple.
“As a result of the defamation, the plaintiffs’ have also
suffered psychological trauma, stress, and anxiety for the loss of the tender
and the risk of future business loss.” Ms Siziba is yet to respond to the
claim. Herald
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