Journalist sues Chronicle over gay slur

Journalist sues Chronicle over gay slur

• Mudede loses suit against Independent

• Daily News wins defamation suit against Moyo

• Daily News wins defamation suit against Moyo

• ANZ sues Moyo, Herald

• Moyo 'to fill jails with lying journalists'

By Staff Reporter

THE Bulawayo based Zimbabwe Standard Senior reporter, Savious-Parker Kwinika, has filed for damages amounting to $ 280 million against the Chronicle newspaper over an article that alleged that he was a homosexual.

The article that appeared on 24 July 2004 under the paper's Busy Body column alleged that Kwinika frequents a 'flat well known for housing-the worse than
pigs and dogs,' and is usually seen flashing bearer's cheques at the Press Club after visiting the flat.

Douglas Mwonzora of Mwonzora and Associates, the lawyer representing Kwinika, said the statements contained in the article are defamatory and were meant to tarnish the image of his client.

"The statement in your newspaper implies that our client is a homosexual who visits other homosexuals in town, thereafter he gets paid and uses the proceeds to purchase liquor for friends and your use of'worse than pigs and dogs'is a plagirisation of President Mugabe's description of gays and lesbians and it is clear that the overall intention of your article was to defame our client," reads part of the lawsuit.

The article further stated that Kwinika was masquerading as a journalist and implied that he was not a competent journalist.

"In that article your journalist wrongfully, unlawfully and intentionally wrote in your paper and intentionally published defamatory statements about and concerning our client, it is clear that the article implied that our client was masquerading as a journalist and writing newspaper articles when in fact he was not a journalist, in other words you implied to the reasonable reader that our client is an impostor."

However Mwonzora argued that the article in question was malicious since Kwinika has won several journalistic awards of excellence in his journalistsic
career.

He said Kwinika was voted the best Science and Technology Journalist for the entire SADC region in 2002 and was also voted the Best Environmental
Reporter in Zimbabwe in 2000.

Mwonzora said among other wards Kwinika was voted the Human Rights Reporter of the year in 1998 while in 1999 he came out fourth in the Environemntal reporter of the Year.

The latest lawsuit by Kwinika is one among a litany of lawsuits that are currently in the courts or are awaiting hearing against the Chronicle's BusyBody column.
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