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[QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 50645, member: 636"]
Former opposition politician Fadzayi Mahere just scored a massive court victory against journalist Edmund Kudzayi. The judge awarded her 100,000 dollars after Kudzayi published a nasty story claiming she had an affair with businessman Tinashe Murapata. The article suggested Mahere wrecked Murapata's marriage through their alleged relationship. Justice Joel Mambara ruled in her favor when Kudzayi refused to show up and defend himself in court. The journalist must also pay interest and all legal costs from the case.

Kudzayi runs the online news site Kukurigo which published the controversial story back in 2022. His article included photos of Mahere and Murapata together at public events like funerals. The journalist claimed he had WhatsApp messages proving the affair actually happened. Mahere fought back hard and said the allegations were completely false and damaged her reputation. She argued the story hurt her career as a lawyer and public speaker.

The court heard that Kukurigo reaches about 370,000 readers and has huge social media influence. Other news outlets picked up the story and spread it even further across the internet. Kudzayi had defended his reporting as honest journalism based on solid evidence. He claimed Mahere got a chance to respond before publication and denied writing the story out of spite. The judge disagreed and sided with Mahere when Kudzayi skipped his court date.
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