HARARE – Property tycoon Kenneth Sharpe has obtained a High Court injunction against WhatsApp news platform Kukurigo to stop publication of “derogatory” and “defamatory” news stories and videos.
The court order came just days after the arrest of a man for allegedly extorting Sharpe, and a police announcement that Kukurigo publisher Edmund Kudzayi is wanted for the same charges.
Sharpe through his company WestProp and Kudzayi representing Kukurigo entered into a business arrangement whose terms were not disclosed in court, but they had a falling out.
In March last year, Sharpe and Kudzayi signed a Mutual Settlement Agreement for Work Done and the latter was subsequently paid US$24,344.
The agreement in part obligated Kudzayi not to make statements that could be construed as critical or derogatory towards WestProp or its representatives, according to Sharpe’s lawyers.
But in January this year, Kudzayi is accused of publishing through Kukurigo a video “which damaged our client’s reputation by creating a narrative that questions their integrity and financial stability.”
To stop further publications, Sharpe approached the High Court last week on an urgent basis.
An unopposed order was granted by Justice Regis Dembure.
The order says Kukurigo, Kudzayi “and all persons acting on their behalf be and are hereby interdicted and prohibited from publishing, producing, or disseminating any content that is defamatory or derogatory towards the applicants” WestProp Holdings and Sharpe.
Kudzayi accuses Sharpe of criminalising a commercial dispute following the arrest of his business associate Nominate Chazwe for extortion and has vowed to fight the charges.
