SELF-EXILED former minister and Zanu PF politburo member
Jonathan Moyo is seeking to apologise to Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga
after accusing him of using a ghost writer for his doctoral thesis.
On July 11, 2017, four months before Chiwenga led a coup
that toppled long time ruler, the late Robert Mugabe, Moyo alleged that the then
Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces did not write the thesis for his
doctorate from the University of KwaZulu Natal. Chiwenga sued and demanded $5
million in defamation claims.
But yesterday, Moyo’s lawyers confirmed the two parties
were in touch over the matter with the hope of concluding it cordially despite
it being before the courts.
Moyo’s lawyer, Chris Mhike of Atherstone and Cook said
legal representatives of the respective parties were “still mutually and
amicably seized with the matter, with a view to concluding it cordially.”
“It is highly regrettable that correspondence which was
designed to be strictly private and confidential has been widely publicised on
social media, apparently for mischievous and malignant reasons,” Mhike said.
“It must be noted that the High Court case remains pending,
and is therefore sub judice. We are therefore unable to meaningfully comment on
the issue. The furthest we can go at this stage, in terms of commentary, is to
confirm that the legal representatives of the respective parties are still
mutually and amicably seized with the matter, with a view to concluding it
cordially.”
Chiwenga’s lawyer, Wilson Manase was not picking his calls
yesterday.
Moyo and Chiwenga were embroiled in vicious clashes during
the height of factionalism in Zanu PF between a faction aligned to then
Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa under the moniker, Lacoste and another better
known as G40 that coalesced around the former First Lady Grace Mugabe.
While Moyo was a key G4O proponent, Chiwenga was said to be
the power behind the Lacoste faction led by Mnangagwa.
Chiwenga accused Moyo of being a war deserter who fled from
the liberation struggle, a claim that angered the former Information minister.
Moyo snapped back on Twitter: “Finally, I’m happy that
Chiwenga wants pre- and post-independence disclosures about who was who, who
did what and so forth. That’s good.
“Meanwhile, I take that to mean he wants the disclosure of
who contributed what to his doctorate and who really wrote his KZN PhD. Again,
the Shona wisdom that kunyarara kurinani panekutaura, applies. #Handeitione,”
Moyo said in the statement that triggered the lawsuit.
Moyo is now in exile after escaping the crackdown by the
army during the coup that led to Mugabe’s ouster. Newsday
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