KWEKWE — Sungura artiste Nicholas Zakaria, who was facing a $5 000 lawsuit for assaulting a police officer at one of his shows in Mbizo, is now “off the hook” after agreeing to an out-of-court settlement.
Report by Staff Reporter
Affectionately known by his fans as the Senior Lecturer, Zakaria was sued for allegedly slapping Detective Assistant Inspector Lawrence Machingura in the face on November 5 last year after the latter intervened to restore order following crowd trouble. Machingura’s lawyer James Magodora told NewsDay the lawsuit had been struck off the row following an out-of-court settlement between his client and Zakaria.
“We have since settled the matter after Zakaria agreed to meet all the legal costs and apologised to my client over the assault. From now on you will not hear anything about this case because it has been settled,” Magodora said.
Magodora refused to disclose how much Zakaria had paid in the out-of-court settlement.
Machingura had claimed $3 000 to atone for the pain and suffering caused by the assault and $2 000 for the humiliation he suffered.
“As a result of the unlawful conduct, the plaintiff sustained some injury, pain and suffering. He is an assistant inspector with the CID and its spokesperson and is well known by the public. He was humiliated and degraded by being assaulted in public,” read part of his submissions.
Zakaria, through his lawyer Maxwell Mavhunga, had denied assaulting Machingura despite paying an admission of guilt fine at Mbizo Police Station on the night of his arrest.
