Grace Mugabe withdraws US$50 000 lawsuit against L...

Grace Mugabe withdraws US$50 000 lawsuit against Lawyer

Zim Now Reporter

In a case that would have potentially set a milestone on the admissibility of WhatsApp screenshots as legal evidence, former first lady, Grace Mugabe has dropped her lawsuit against lawyer Munyaradzi Bwanya.

Mugabe sued forUS$50,000 in damages for defamation arising from remarks made in a community WhatsApp group.

Grace accused Bwanya of falsely alleging that she used her influence to bypass legal procedures when acquiring properties at Carrick Creagh Estate.

Grace’s legal representatives, Chimwamurombe Legal Practice issued an apology to Bwanya citing that they had been misled by their client.

The apology stated, “I apologise for the delay in responding to your letter dated May 6, 2024. The absence of a written response does not indicate that I consider the issues raised to be trivial. Based on our verbal conversations, I agree with your position that a claim formulated in this manner cannot be sustained.”

In her lawsuit, Grace Mugabe had alleged that Bwanya falsely accused her of abusing her authority to unlawfully acquire government-owned properties and of favouring her close associates by distributing these properties.

She claimed that the messages in the WhatsApp group had wrongfully tarnished her reputation by suggesting corruption between her and the government.

Bwanya denied the accusations, asserting that he was just a member of the WhatsApp group in question and did not post any defamatory messages.

He challenged Grace Mugabe to validate her claims by presenting phone records to verify the origin of the messages in question.