A pre-trial conference in a defamation case between the State-run Herald newspaper sports editor Robson Sharuko and Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) board member for finance Elliot Kasu ended in a stalemate on Wednesday.
High Court judge Justice Hlekani Mwayera eventually referred the matter for trial following the impasse.
The two parties met on Wednesday before Justice Mwayera and failed to agree and a date for the trial will now be set.
Kasu is demanding $300 000 compensation from Sharuko and Zimpapers, publishers of The Herald that carried the stories. The Zifa board member said his reputation was damaged by the stories written by Sharuko and published by The Herald. He claims the stories by Sharuko portrayed him as a “bad soccer administrator and as a bully”. In his stories, Sharuko had alleged that he had been threatened by Kasu, but the Zifa board member denies the allegations. Zimpapers is arguing that the stories were not defamatory. They also say the quantum of damages demanded by Kasu were not justified.
