The legal dispute between opposition spokesperson Fadzai Mahere and Youth Empowerment Minister Tino Machakaire is set to continue, with the High Court scheduling the next hearing for May 14, 2026, after the matter was postponed.
Machakaire filed a defamation lawsuit against Mahere last year, seeking US$50,000 in damages. The case stems from statements he claims harmed his reputation.
Mahere has strongly contested the claim and filed counterclaims of her own. As part of her defence, she applied for default judgment, arguing that Machakaire should be barred from responding to her counterclaim because he allegedly approached the court with what lawyers term “dirty hands.”
The matter had initially been set down for hearing but was postponed after the court ran out of time. Legal representatives for both parties—Thabani Mpofu for Mahere and Tinomudaishe Chinyoka for Machakaire—later agreed to reschedule the hearing to May 14, 2026.
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Meanwhile, Mahere is also challenging a separate order requiring her to pay Machakaire’s legal costs. In an urgent chamber application filed at the High Court, she argued that the costs awarded were excessive, as the matter was not complex and could have been handled without the involvement of an advocate.
In her application for review, Mahere further argued that engaging an advocate in a defamation case involving a US$50,000 claim was unnecessary, and that ordinary legal representation would have been sufficient.
Despite this position, Mahere appeared at the most recent hearing represented by Advocate Mpofu, along with a member of her legal team. Lawyer Blessing Diza, who had previously argued the costs application, was not present at the hearing.
Judgment on the urgent chamber application has been reserved, while the review application remains pending.
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