To: Hon. Themba Mliswa
C/o Parliament of Zimbabwe
Kwame Nkrumah & 3rd Street
Box CY 298
Causeway
Harare
Zimbabwe
Dear Sir,
IN RE: MUTUMWA MAWERE II THEMBA MLISWA
1. We act on behalf of Mr. Mutumwa Dziva Mawere (hereinafter referred to as Mr. Mawere), an adult male businessman based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa Resources Limited (ARL), SMM Holdings Limited (SMMH), THZ Holdings Limited (THZH), TAP Building Products Limited (TAP), and SMM Holdings Private Limited (SMM)
2. Mr. Mawere is the sole shareholder of Africa Resources Limited (ARL), a company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Island (BVI), that concluded a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) dated 7 March 1996 with T & N International Limited (registered number 1073619), a company incorporated in the United Kingdom, and T & N Plc (registered number 163992) providing for the sale and purchase of SMMH shares, the THZH shares and the TAP shares together with the rights attaching to them.
3. SMMH was the beneficial owner of the entire issued share capital of Shabanie and Mashaba Mines (Private) Limited (SMM).
4. We are instructed as follows:
4.1 Our clients have invested time and substantial amounts of money in building his and the good reputation and branding of the relevant companies, in the Zimbabwean and external markets, under the ARL group since 1996.
4.2 Our clients are thus entitled to the right of protection of their reputations and dignity that is entrenched in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
5. Our clients’ attention has been drawn to the following:
5.1 On 27 December 2018, your interview on the Zimeye.net platform https://www.facebook.com/ZimEye/videos/765781883784621/ was published and distributed.
5.2 On 28 December you authored the following thread of tweets https://twitter.com/TembaMliswa/status/1078529544036978688.
6. Reference to Mr. Mawere is to the shareholder and director of ARL, SMMH and THZH.
7. Our clients take the contents of the aforesaid video and tweets in serious light especially considering that the tweets and the video have been intentionally published by you with the intent to harm our clients.
8. Our clients deny the allegations contained in the videos and related tweets and it is contended that the contents therein are intentionally designed to defame and cause damage to our clients.
9. In addition, it has become clear that you are an integral part of an orchestrated scheme to deliberately smear our clients using the publication of defamatory statements via social media and in Parliament and causing the distribution of such harmful content.
10. It is self-evident that the intended theme of these actions is to create the impression in the public domain that the decision to place SMM under extrajudicial administration was constitutional and legal.
11. Accordingly, SMM suffered a fate that you consider having been authored by our clients.
12. The overarching theme of your actions are clearly directed at defaming our clients and causing them both reputational and financial harm.
13. It is beyond any doubt that the impugned content is intentionally false, defamatory and injurious.
14. This content and/or innuendo of includes, inter alia, allegations that:
14.1 The consideration in respect of the acquisition of SMM pursuant to the above-referenced SPA was $1.
14.2 A government guarantee was relied upon in respect of the SPA.
14.3 Mr. Mawere has and is fighting another Zimbabwean businessman named Mr. Strive Masiyiwa.
14.4 In respect of the SPA, Mr. Mawere and/or ARL was given an opportunity by President Mnangagwa who was at all material times a Minister in the cabinet of former President Mugabe.
14.5 Mr. Mawere was employed as a spokesman for Mr. Daniel Shumba.
14.6 Mr. Mawere was negatively interfering in the business of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Mining Development that you Chair.
14.7 Mr. Mawere is a con artist.
14.8 Mr. Mawere has nothing better to do in life than spend time on social media.
14.9 Mr. Mawere was a project driven by President Mnangagwa to favour Karanga people in business.
14.10 Mr. Mawere is a cruel and hostile man who has tried to destroy the business and professional reputations of other Zimbabwean business person including Mr. Shingai Mutasa and Mr. Strive Masiyiwa.
14.11 Mr. Mawere was a member of the Chiyangwa Anti-Corruption Commission.
14.12 Mr. Mawere is dangerous and bitter.
14.13 Mr. Mawere externalized funds as alleged by Hon. Chinamasa.
14.14 Mr. Mawere must move on and give room to a new generation of young business actors.
15. The defamatory statements appear to have been intentionally published to several thousands of Zimbabweans in the country and internationally.
16. The publication of the defamatory statements is wrongful and actionable.
17. As a result of your conduct, our clients have suffered considerable damages and continue to suffer damages as long as you continue to allow use your position as a legislator to defame our clients.
18. In so far as our clients including juristic entities, it follows that such entities are entitled to claim for both general and actual damages suffered by defamatory statements injuring their reputation as business corporations.
19. You reside in Zimbabwe and the defamatory publications were also made in the country and as such the courts in the country have inherent jurisdiction to entertain the anticipated legal action against you.
20. Your conduct also adversely affects our clients’ business activities in the United Kingdom, BVI, South Africa, and Zambia.
21. We have been thus instructed to demand from you, as we hereby do, that provide on or before 9 January2019:
21.1 An unqualified and complete retracting of the defamatory statements and the removal of all videos, audios and/or other publications making reference to any of our clients;
21.2 An apology, in writing, for the defamatory and false statements and innuendo published of and concerning our clients;
21.3 An undertaking that you will cease and desist from:
21.3.1 making any further defamatory statements in relation to or in respect of our clients; and
21.3.2 publishing any further defamatory matter (including innuendo) and/or injurious falsehoods of and concerning our clients.
22. Should you fail to take the steps set out above our clients have instructed us to proceed with a damages claim against you for the amount of $50 000 000,00.
23. In addition, you are called upon, under those circumstances, to provide the following undertaking by no later than 9 January2019, namely that pending the finalisation of an action to be instituted by our clients before the end of January 2019 that:
23.1 you will remove all videos, audios and any other publications making reference to any of our clients;
23.2 you will not make any defamatory and/or untrue statements in respect of our clients.
24. This letter is also not exhaustive.
25. Failure to comply with the above requests will regrettably result in our clients taking such further steps against you as they may be advised and which will include an urgent application seeking to interdict your wrongful conduct. You are also advised that an appropriate punitive cost order will be sought against you.
Yours Faithfully,