JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Zanu PF activist Rutendo Benson Matinyarare has been accused of perjury by his former lawyer after he told the Gauteng High Court in South Africa that he was unaware of a gag order issued against him following an application by Innscor Africa.
Lawyer Simba Chitando says Matinyarare not only knew of the gag order but he deliberately defied it by continuing to post, on his social media, statements which Innscor says are untrue, including the claim that the company is selling genetically modified foods in Zimbabwe.
Innscor now wants Matinyarare, who lives in South Africa, sent to jail for contempt of court, and in his defence he accused Chitando of not informing him about the March 24, 2024, order of the Gauteng High Court interdicting him from further publishing “defamatory” videos about the company online.
Chitando has now opened a criminal complaint with the police against Matinyarare supported with a scathing affidavit as he wants him jailed for perjury.
In the affidavit handed over to police on June 19, the lawyer wrote: “The objective evidence, and Matinyarare’s own evidence, proves that he unlawfully made false statements in his May 6, 2024, affidavit under oath in the Johannesburg High Court… with the intention of evading criminal liability in contempt of court proceedings against him, and thereby obstructed the administration of justice.
“Matinyarare is thereby liable to be convicted for obstructing and defeating the administration of justice, and sentence in a manner the court deems fit.”
Chitando said he had no interest in the merits of the contempt of court application brought by Innscor, and the counter applications by Matinyarare, but he had “an interest in his criminal of perjury, of which I am a victim.”
Perjury attracts a sentence of up to 10 years.
“The South African justice system would be paralysed if witnesses make false allegations in sworn affidavits with the intent of invading justice. It is in the interests of justice that these allegations are seriously considered by the police and the National Prosecuting Authority,” Chitando added.
In a series of videos and tweets posted on Facebook and X, Matinyarare claimed Innscor was “destroying the taste of Zimbabwean food” through selling GMO products and labelled its founder Zinona ‘Zed’ Koudounaris, whose parents are from Greece, a “Rhodie.”
The Johannesburg High Court granted an order interdicting and restraining Matinyarare “from publishing any of the defamatory statements contained in the articles and videos.”
He defied the order several times prompting Innscor to return to the court with a contempt application.
Matinyarare, now represented by a different lawyer, sought to shift the blame on Chitando in an affidavit filed with the court on May 6. He argues that he “continued to publish further articles notwithstanding the settlement order, as I did not know that there was a settlement which was made an order of the court.”
In a 181-page affidavit handed over to police, Chitando meticulously demonstrated through WhatsApp messages with Matinyarare that the Zanu PF activist had been sent all the documents and been kept aware of developments with the court case before he changed lawyers on April 29, 2024.
In a bombshell revelation, Chitando said Rutendo’s switch to a law firm called ENS was sponsored by controversial businessman, Simon Rudland.
In another revelation, Chitando said tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who is under United States and British sanctions, had provided funding for the Zimbabwe Anti-Sanction Movement (ZASM), an organisation that he and Matinyarare were members of.
“Matinyarare told me about the potential involvement of ENS in this matter before April 29, 2024, when the brief was terminated. In March 2024, he said that Mr Simon Rudland, a multimillionaire Zimbabwean businessman and apparent rival of Mr Zinona Koudounaris, was considering financing his case against Innscor because he does not like Koudounaris’ control of the Zimbabwean economy. His condition was that Matinyarare should have to use ENS,” the lawyer revealed.
Chitando revealed that he had also initiated civil and criminal proceedings against Matinyarare for “misappropriated donations paid to his bank account from Zanu PF affiliated businessman Kuda Tagwirei intended for ZASM’s anti-sanctions campaign that I was involved in.”
The matter is pending.
Simba Chitando’s Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint Against Rutendo Benson Matinyarare: READ HERE
