Zanu PF activist, Rutendo Benson Matinyarare, has been convicted for contempt of court after he defied court orders barring him from his continued publishing of defamatory content against Innscor Africa Limited (IAL) and its founder, Zinona ‘Zed’ Koudounaris.
Granting an urgent application by IAL, Justice Gcina Malindi, sitting in the High Court of South Africa Gauteng Division ordered that Matinyarare be committed to a period of imprisonment of three months wholly suspended on condition that he does not disseminate, directly or indirectly, false and defamatory allegations pertaining to IAL or Zed.
“The publication by the first respondent (Matinyarare) of the social media posts about the applicants between February 28 and March 5, 2024 as fully identified in the founding affidavit is in contempt of the order by Siwendu J delivered on January 9, 2024 and the first respondent is ordered to remove these posts immediately upon granting of the order.
“The further publication by the first respondent of the social media posts about the applicants between 8 May 2024 and 25 June 2024 as fully identified in the founding affidavit is contemptuous of the orders by Siwendu J dated 9 January 2024 and by Wanless J dated 20 March 2024; and the first respondent is ordered to remove these posts immediately upon granting of the order,” reads part of Justice Malindi’s order.
“The first respondent is committed to a period of imprisonment of three months, which committal is suspended on condition that the first respondent does not disseminate, directly or indirectly, false and defamatory allegations pertaining to the first and second applicants, or in any other manner breach the orders by Judges Siwendu and Wanless,” order Justice Malindi.
IAL was forced to return to SA High Court’s Gauteng Division, for relief on an urgent basis because Matinyarare’s conduct threatens the rule of law as he ‘clearly has no intention of adhering to the court orders and has chosen to ignore the applicants' repeated requests to remove the offensive content’.
“The principle of legality requires compliance with the orders. The respondents flout these orders and are in clear contempt of this court,” IAL said in their application."
Earlier in court, Matinyare’s new lawyer MJ Machaba, had submitted that the court lacked jurisdiction, that certain processes of court were served on him in Zimbabwe is an indication that he is not ordinarily resident in South Africa and that his South African ID is no consequence to his residency and is a consequence of his permanent residence.
Machaba took over after lawyers from ENS dumped him. ENS had replaced Simba Chitando, who had initiated criminal proceedings against Matinyarare and accused him of committing perjury.
Machaba had challenged the urgency of the matter.
But the summary judgment said that “It is trite that applications for contempt are inherently urgent.
The urgency is not triggered only by the merits of the matter under contention, but also by the principle that has been restated many times in this court, that respect for orders of court is important; it is a marker for the rule of law in that citizens of the country must respect the orders of court. Protects and preserves the standing and dignity of courts as well,”
Matinyarare had continuously defied earlier orders by the same court barring him from posting any of the defamatory statements contained in his articles and videos, which he made viral on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook alleging that IAL was selling genetically modified foods (GMOs) in Zimbabwe and “destroying the taste of Zimbabwean food”.
He also shared the same defamatory posts on another microblogging site, Facebook and went on to claim that Zed a “Rhodie” because his parents originate from Greece.
The group, however, denies producing or importing GMOs into the country and instead says that it is committed to improving the quality of life of the customers in its chosen target markets and thereby creating and unlocking value for all stakeholders.
IAL is a focused group of light manufacturing businesses, which produce a number of Zimbabwe’s iconic brands in the consumer staple and durable product space.
It manufactures consumer staple and durable goods for the mass market through a managed and where strategically appropriate, integrated portfolio of businesses.
The conviction means that Matinyarare now has a criminal record and the sword of damocles hanging over his next move in this saga.
