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Fidelis Munyoro, Chief Court Reporter
A SOUTH African High Court has ruled that no amount of damages will compensate for the long-term reputational damage that social media activist Rutendo Matinyarare is inflicting on Innscor Africa and one of its founders if he is not stopped and have ordered him to desist until his appeal against an earlier similar order is decided.
The ruling comes after Innscor, one of the leading agro-industrial firms in Zimbabwe, and founder Mr Zinona “Zed” Koudounaris approached the court seeking permission to execute an injunctive order stopping Matinyarare from publishing defamatory statements against the agro-industrial company and its founder on social media.
Innscor Africa obtained a takedown order against Mr Matinyarare, who posted videos online accusing the company of “destroying the taste of Zimbabwean food” while also labelling company founder Mr Zinona ‘Zed’ Koudounaris a “Rhodie”.
The Johannesburg High Court ruled this year that Mr Matinyarare’s claims were defamatory, leaving him facing a damages claim from Innscor and Mr Koudounaris as well as a huge legal bill, in the event Innscor wins the case.
In a ruling on January 9 this year, Justice Thina Siwendu ordered Mr Matinyarare to take down the defamatory posts on Facebook and X, and to discontinue from posting any further unsubstantiated claims against Innscor and Mr Koudounaris.
Undeterred, Mr Matinyarare posted more defamatory statements about Innscor and Mr Koudounaris between February 28 and June this year. He is appealing against the High court injunctive order.
But when he flagrantly disobeyed all the court orders against him, that resulted in him being cited for contempt of court and slapped with a wholly suspended three-month jail term.
He declared that he would not stop publishing information in violation of the court orders, if in his opinion the information was factual and had some truth in it.
This prompted Innscor and Mr Koudounaris to approach the High Court seeking to enforce a court judgment against Mr Matinyarare pending the determination of his appeal. South Gauteng High Court judge, Justice Motsamai Makume on Wednesday granted the relief sought by Innscor, ruling that Mr Matinyarare should remove contemptuous publication from social media.
“Having heard counsel and having considered the matter, it is ordered that the order of this court by His Lordship Mr Justice Malindi on 16 July 2024 is of full force and effect pending any appeal to be brought by the first respondent and shall not be suspended in terms of section 18(1) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 pending such appeal or notice thereof,” ruled Justice Makume.
He also ruled that Matinyarare had to pay the costs of the application at scale C, which includes the costs of two counsel as well as the attorneys hired by both sides.
In his judgment, Justice Makume noted that the media and method used by Mr Matinyarare were accessible worldwide on social media which has become a powerful and effective tool of quick dissemination of information.
In this regard, the judge said the interdict granted to Innscor Africa would be rendered meaningless and the company would continue to suffer irreparable harm that might include loss of clients and reputation in the commercial world if Mr Matinyarare was not stopped in his tracks.
In opposing the application, Mr Matinyarare had in his heads of argument gone to great lengths and dealt with grounds of appeal and very little about the law and requirements and the test to be applied in such a case.
He argued that prospects of success in the appeal were excellent, but Justice Makume found the prospects of success in this matter slim or non-existent.
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