High Court Judge in Masvingo, Justice Sunsley Zisengwe has
ordered her to pay top Masvingo lawyer, Rodney Saratoga Makausi US$18 000 in
defamation charges. The lawsuit resulted from a March 2023 post on her
Instagram in which she accused Makausi of soliciting for sex from her.
Makausi who is also a businessman sued her for US$500 000
after she refused to pull down the post she made to her 235 000 followers.
Kikky badass didn’t file her Pre Trial Conference (PTC)
issues as directed by Justice Garainesu Mawadze and she didn’t attend the PTC
on October 1, 2024, nor did she file her submissions leading Makausi to apply
for a default judgment.
Makausi amended the amount to US$60 000 and was granted
US$18 000 damages.
He told the court that Kikky didn’t make any attempts to
retract the post after they engaged her and his standing and reputation as a
lawyer, devout Seventh Day Adventist member, family man and community member
was negatively affected.
Kikky earlier filed a plea for the case to be thrown out
arguing that Makausi cannot demand civil damages in US$ as it is not the
official currency. The plea was thrown out by Justice Zisengwe.
“As a devout Christian, professional man, respected legal
practitioner and officer of the court, in a fairly small city like Masvingo, my
reputation and character are my currency. The respondent’s defamatory posts
have however caused irreparable harm to that fama. The embarrassment and
ridicule that I have suffered as a result of her defamatory post is borne for
no reason at all.
“While it is not mathematically possible to fully
compensate for the injury, I verily believe that an award of damages in the sum
of US$60 000 would serve in some way to ameliorate the injury to my
reputation,” said Makausi.
Makausi was represented by Samuel Banda of Advocate’s
Chambers in Harare. Masvingo Mirror
