Harare High Court to Hear Fadzayi Mahere’s Urgent Bid to Stop US$33,000 Cost Order in Machakaire Case

Fadzai Mahere

The High Court of Zimbabwe is expected to hear an urgent application filed by lawyer and politician Fadzayi Mahere seeking to halt the execution of a writ linked to a US$33,000 legal costs order in her ongoing defamation dispute with Youth Minister Tinoda Machakaire. The matter is scheduled to be heard in Harare before Justice Tawanda Chitapi. Mahere is asking the court to grant a stay of execution after lawyers representing Machakaire moved to enforce payment of the legal costs arising from an earlier court ruling.

The legal battle between Mahere and Machakaire stems from competing defamation lawsuits currently before the courts. Machakaire initially filed a defamation claim against Mahere. In response, Mahere filed a counterclaim, resulting in two related matters proceeding through the courts. During the proceedings, Mahere filed an exception and a special plea challenging the validity of Machakaire’s claim.

However, Justice Chitapi dismissed those objections and ordered Mahere to pay legal costs related to that stage of the litigation. It is those costs that now form the basis of the US$33,000 claim being pursued by Machakaire’s legal team.

Mahere has since challenged the costs order and is seeking to stop the enforcement process while her challenge is being considered by the court. Her urgent application asks the court to suspend execution of the writ until the dispute over the legal costs is resolved. In Zimbabwean civil procedure, a writ of execution allows a successful litigant to recover court-awarded costs through legal enforcement measures. Mahere’s application will determine whether enforcement of the costs order can proceed while the broader litigation continues.

The legal dispute between the two parties is expected to continue in the coming days.

Machakaire has filed a separate application challenging a procedural step taken by Mahere in the same matter. That application is also scheduled to be heard next week before Justice Chitapi. Both the defamation claim and the counterclaim remain pending before the courts.

The outcome of the urgent application could determine whether enforcement of the US$33,000 legal costs order proceeds while the wider legal dispute between Mahere and Machakaire continues.

Mahere Machakaire legal battle