adminDaniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
PROPHETIC Healing and Deliverance Church leader Prophet Walter Magaya yesterday filed a US$20 million lawsuit against Alpha Media Holdings over an article published in the NewsDay insinuating that he faced murder charges following the death of a baby boy at his church. The summons was filed yesterday at the High Court by Prophet Magaya’s lawyer, Mr Everson Chatambudza of Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, under case number HC6184-2014.
Prophet Magaya’s claim emanated from an article in NewsDay’s July 17 2014 edition headlined “Magaya faces murder charges”.
He is claiming US$20 million plus interest at the rate of 5 percent per annum calculated from the date of issuance of summons to the date of payment in full.
In the plaintiff’s declaration, the lawyers argued that the article seriously damaged the character of Prophet Magaya considering that he leads a church with a large following.
The prophet contends that the article was false and highly defamatory.
“The article was wrongful, false, scandalous, malicious and defamatory of the plaintiff in that it was intended and was understood by the readers of the newspaper and its Internet page both locally and internationally that the plaintiff is a murderer, dishonesty, religiously and morally corrupt, unworthy and a hypocrite,” read the declaration.
It was also stated in the papers that the “defamatory” article wrongly portrayed Prophet Magaya as a false prophet practising idolatry and involved in pagan tendencies.
Alpha Media Holdings, publishers of Newsday, had not yet responded to the summons at the time of going to print.
Online Reporter