CCC spokesperson Advocate Fadzayi Mahere has publicly disowned her verified Twitter account in a desperate bid to wriggle herself from a messy defamation lawsuit that was filed by fellow lawyer Advocate Tinomudaishe Chinyoka.
Advocate Mahere’s stunning denial of being the face behind
the Twitter handle from which previous official CCC statements were issued, has
raised questions not only about her integrity but also of the party she
represents which presently operates Mafia-style, with no structures, and
certainly no checks and balances.
However, her claims are exposed as Twitter requires account
holders to among other things “provide a photo of a valid official government-issued
identification document, such as your Driver’s Licence or Passport”, for a
particular handle to be verified.
Adv Mahere is facing a US$100 000 million lawsuit from Adv
Chinyoka, charges which emanate from a tweet she posted on March 10 alleging
that the later had been suspended from the Petrotrade board for corruption.
“Corruption is killing us. They were appointed in June
2021. Before one year is up, they are facing allegations of corruption.
“Among the suspended are Advocate Tino Chinyoka and Lilian
Timveos,” she said in the tweet which is now the subject of litigation.
However, the usually litigious Adv Mahere’s tweet was not
factual as Adv Chinyoka is presently fighting the dissolution of the board he
chaired.
“The defendant is Fadzayi Mahere, a private individual and
lawyer — who controls an account on Twitter under the handle @advocatemahere,”
Advocate Chinyoka averred, in papers filed with the High Court in May.
In her defendant’s plea submitted on June 6, Mahere denied
Advocate Chinyoka’s assertion that she “has/runs/controls” the @advocatemahere
account.
Although she denies being the face behind @advocatemahere
handle, she vehemently defend the tweet in the same plea, saying “the contents
of the tweet were true”.
Mr Chinyoka responded to Mahere’s plea in replication
papers filed Friday (July 8), describing Mahere as dishonest.
“And, as the Defendant goes on to admit publishing the
statements complained about, the denial that the Twitter handle
‘@advocatemahere’ belongs to her and the sanctimonious demand for Plaintiff to
prove the fact is, in these unfortunate circumstances, facetious,” Advocate
Chinyoka claims in a blistering response.
“Demonstrating her propensity and propinquity for mendacity
and perfidy, the Defendant confuses herself by claiming that a verified
(Twitter) account requires further proof that it is hers.”
However, Twitter has her digital footprints with pictures
galore of herself in the company of other opposition functionaries.
This is not the first time that Adv Mahere has been locked
in a legal battle with her case pending, again with a fellow lawyer Dr Petina
Gappah at the High Court. Herald
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