Biti US$1 million lawsuit: Supreme Court gives nod to proceed

Harare- THE US$1 million civil lawsuit against CCC lawmaker Tendai Biti for allegedly defaming businessman Ken Sharpe and another senior executive at his company Augur Investments has been given the nod to proceed,Express Mail Zim can report.

Biti’s application for leave to appeal was struck off the roll with costs at the Supreme Court .

He had approached the Supreme Court after losing at the lower court a prayer which was quashed by the higher court with presiding judge Justice Alfas Chitakunye arguing that the High Court order that Biti sought to challenge was a default judgement,hence he had to purge his default at the High Court first .

Chitakunye further noted that Biti failed to meet Supreme Court rules which stipulates that he should have filed the application within the mandatory 10-day period.

This follows the failure of his application for leave to appeal at the Supreme Court against a High court decision that Sharpe could proceed. The application was struck off the roll, with costs. Augur and Sharpe launched the defamation lawsuit against Biti three years ago after the politician, in his twitter handle, named him as the most corrupt person looting Zimbabwe’s resources.

However, Biti objected to the lawsuit but lost the case at High Court by way of a default judgment entered against him.

Biti then approached the Supreme Court seeking leave to appeal against the decision that had dismissed an exception to the defamation summons he had raised in the lower court.

But after hearing arguments on Wednesday, Justice Alfas Chitakunye, sitting in chambers, struck the appeal application off the roll with costs on the basis that the motion was improper before the court.

The judge noted that the order of the High Court, which Biti sought to challenge, was a default judgment hence the politician had to purge his default in the lower court first, and so had jumped the gun by approaching the Supreme Court.

The application was filed after the lapse of the mandatory 10-day period stipulated in the Supreme Court rules.

Augur Investments is seeking US$500 000 damages from Mr Biti, split as follows: Mr Sharpe US$400 000, and Chief Operations Officer Tatiana Aleshina US$100 000.

Sharpe also cited the opposition party for pursuing a malicious agenda based on Mr Biti’s tweets.

Sometime in December 2020, Biti is alleged to have further published two other defamatory statements concerning Sharpe and Aleshina and several other prominent business people that he named as amongst a coterie of elite looters that were allegedly bleeding Zimbabwe.

Advocate Daphne Sanhanga instructed by Mr Bright Mahuni of Scanlen and Holderness acted for Augur and its executives, while Lovemore Madhuku represented Biti.