Mpofu sues Matutu $10m over corruption list

HARARE – Zanu PF administrative secretary Obert Mpofu is suing the party’s youth wing deputy secretary Lewis Matutu for $10 million for defamation.

In a subpoena filed in the Harare High Court on Tuesday, Mpofu refers to comments made by the youth leader during a press conference at Zanu PF headquarters in June, which included Mpofu on a list of party officials, government officials and allegedly corrupt individuals.

“The statement, with its defamatory, false and misleading allegations, declares that the plaintiff violated the fundamental principles of the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe because of his corrupt inclinations,” Mpofu’s lawyers say.

Matutu reportedly said that Mpofu’s corrupt tendencies continue to undermine Zimbabwe’s socio-economic transformation and that young people are suffering immensely.

“He said that despite the country’s abundant human and natural resources, corrupt individuals like the Complainant continue to perpetuate alarming socio-economic imbalances in Zimbabwe,” the lawyers said.

Mpofu wants Matutu to make a public statement retracting his allegations.

Matutu is already being sued by businessman Frank Buyanga for allegedly linking him to land corruption, and faces further threats of legal action from some of those he has publicly named.