HARARE— A Zimbabwean parliamentarian, who claims that he has been defamed by another legislator inside and outside parliamentary business, is suing Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa for character assassination, claiming $10 million in damages for being labelled a thief.
Chegutu West MP, Dexter Tawona Nduna, has hired Harare lawyers Chambati, Mataka and Makonese to seek redress, saying Mliswa’s utterances that he stole millions of dollars belonging to the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority have damaged his reputation.
In a harsh exchange of words Monday during a parliamentary mines committee meeting in Zimbabwe’s capital, Mliswa claimed that Nduna stole public funds while he was chairperson of the transport parliamentary committee.
An irate Nduna hit back telling Mliswa that he was no push over as he had killed some people. He did not elaborate. Mliswa, who has been temporarily relieved of his chairmanship of the mines committee, allegedly solicited for a $400,000 from a potential mine investor.
Nduna allegedly wants to chair the parliamentary mines committee.
In papers filed at the High Court Tuesday, Nduna’s lawyers said Mliswa addressed some media organizations soon after their clash in parliament and told journalists that the Chegutu West legislator “during his tenure of office of the 8th parliament as chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport went around the country soliciting for money in the name of the Speaker of Parliament.
“He also alleged that the Minister of Transport actually complained that plaintiff (Nduna) was usurping his powers by going around looking for contracts. The utterances by the defendant (Mliswa) are false and malicious and meant to damage the reputation of the plaintiff in the eyes of the current government ministers, fellow National House of Assembly members, the public at large and the constituency that he represents. The plaintiff is presented as a corrupt person not fit for the public office he occupies and the consequential effect is that he may not be appointed to those positions on the basis of merit but through improper means.”
