Hip hop artist and video vixen Christabel Stembeni Kikky badass’ Mahlungwa received the kick of a horse on Wednesday.
High Court Judge in Masvingo, Justice Sunsley Zisengwe has ordered her to pay top Masvingo lawyer, Rodney Saratoga Makausi US$18 000 in defamation charges. The lawsuit resulted from a March 2023 post on her Instagram in which she accused Makausi of soliciting for sex from her.
Makausi who is also a businessman sued her for US$500 000 after she refused to pull down the post she made to her 235 000 followers.
Kikky badass didn’t file her Pre Trial Conference (PTC) issues as directed by Justice Garainesu Mawadze and she didn’t attend the PTC on October 1, 2024, nor did she file her submissions leading Makausi to apply for a default judgment.
Makausi amended the amount to US$60 000 and was granted US$18 000 damages.
He told the court that Kikky didn’t make any attempts to retract the post after they engaged her and his standing and reputation as a lawyer, devout Seventh Day Adventist member, family man and community member was negatively affected.
Kikky earlier filed a plea for the case to be thrown out arguing that Makausi cannot demand civil damages in US$ as it is not the official currency. The plea was thrown out by Justice Zisengwe.
“As a devout Christian, professional man, respected legal practitioner and officer of the court, in a fairly small city like Masvingo, my reputation and character are my currency. The respondent’s defamatory posts have however caused irreparable harm to that fama. The embarrassment and ridicule that I have suffered as a result of her defamatory post is borne for no reason at all.
“While it is not mathematically possible to fully compensate for the injury, I verily believe that an award of damages in the sum of US$60 000 would serve in some way to ameliorate the injury to my reputation,” said Makausi.
Makausi was represented by Samuel Banda of Advocate’s Chambers in Harare
