Gappah Apologises to Mahere for Defamatory Comments
"...I hereby fully and unequivocally retract all the statements that I made about her, ..." - Petina Gappah
Gappah Apologises to Mahere for Defamatory Comments
Prominent lawyer, writer and intellectual property consultant Petina Gappah has written an apology to fellow colleague and former Mount Pleasant legislator Fadzayi Mahere over comments made in 2018.
The two who are among Zimbabwe's brilliant women had a fallout that resulted in a public spate where Gappah made several defamatory statements against Mahere.
Gappah alleged that:
- Mahere “got into the University of Zimbabwe through the help of her father in 2004”,
- Mahere “was an intern in The Hague in 2009”,
- Mahere “attempted to get into the pants of the father of Gappah's son when he asked Gappah to Mahere with her application to Cambridge University, and
- Gappah helped Mahere “get into Cambridge by editing her application essay in 2009”.
Mahere then took the matter to court. The matter is currently before the courts.
Gappah Apologises to Mahere for Defamatory Comments
In her apology Gappah wrote:
“I am pleased to share below a public retraction and apology to Advocate Fadzayi Mahere for comments I made about her back in September 2018. I look forward to donate to a charity of her choice and wish her continued success in her political career and her legal career.”
Gappah also offered to donate to make a donation in Mahere's name to a charity of Mahere's choice “as a demonstration of good faith, sincerity and regret”.
Mahere is yet to respond to the apology.
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart (@DavidColtart) commended the move saying: “This is an entirely sensible manner in which to settle this unfortunate dispute between two of our finest brains in #Zimbabwe. I congratulate both for this settlement. @VascoDaGappah @advocatemahere”
However, sentiments from others are that the apology is amiss.
Nyasha Musandu (@NMusandu) commented: “I don't know who needs to hear this, but court proceedings are not concluded on Twitter, and apologies do not cause further offence. When you admit liability, you pay damages, not donate to charity. Let's hear what the court has to say!”
