Zimbabwe High Court rules plaintiff could attach Al Jazeera property in $2M lawsuit

By Jeffrey Moyo

​​​​​​​HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) - Zimbabwe’s High Court ordered the sheriff to attach Al Jazeera Media Network’s property as security for costs in a lawsuit against the media outlet because of the contents of a documentary.

The suit was filed by Mehluli Dube, a focus of the Gold Mafia documentary

Dube, a former employee of Fidelity Printers and Refiners in Zimbabwe is seeking $2 million in damages after he claimed his image was tarnished by the documentary.

The documentary cost him his job after it was aired on Al Jazeera from March 23 - April 14, 2023. It film was an expose of illicit gold trading and smuggling in Zimbabwe.

Dube filed the suit after he claimed his legal representatives tried unsuccessfully several times to reach Al Jazeera to be given proof of allegations made against him in the film.

Justice Siyabona Musithu stressed the need for a judicial determination about the allegations against Dube, noting that the alleged defamatory statements, which Al Jazeera does not dispute, establish a prima facie cause of action.

"It is also in the public interest that the truthfulness of the allegations carried in the documentary, which attracted public interest, be tested in a court of law," said Musithu.

Musithu granted Dube's request to attach equipment used by Al Jazeera at its bureau in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare.

The equipment includes laptops, desktop computers, printers and cameras valued at approximately $100,000.​​​​​​​