ELIJAH FIRE ORDERED TO PAY JOURNO E80 000

MBABANE – The voice clip that Elijah Fire recorded after former Eswatini Observer’s Delisa Thwala wrote an article about his church contravening COVID-19 regulations, has cost him E80 000.

Elijah Fire, whose real name is Muzi Mkhatjwa, has been ordered to compensate Delisa the sum of E80 000 after she complained to the court that the contents of  the voice clip were defamatory towards her. Acting High Court Judge Manene Thwala made the ruling yesterday.

Delisa told the court that the contents of the recording were wrongful and defamatory in that anyone who listened to it understood it to mean that she was not honest, lacked morals, was corrupt and untrustworthy.

She said she had never met Pastor Justice Dlamini, who was referred to in the recording and had never been to his church. She submitted that when she logged-on to WhatsApp, she was met with a flood of messages, some of which were from her colleagues at Eswatini Observer. Delisa told the court that all the messages referred to some money which she was alleged to have received from Pastor Justice. She further said in the messages was attached an audio recording by Mkhatjwa in which he talked about an article published by the newspaper on March 30, 2020.  

Regarding the effects of the audio recording, Delisa said it played a part somehow towards Eswatini Observer subsequently not renewing her contract.

Defamation

As a result of the defamation, she demanded compensation in the amount of E950 000, which she said represented a fair and reasonable compensation for the damages she suffered.

Mkhatjwa admitted that he was responsible for the voice recording. He said the recording was strictly meant for record keeping and administrative purposes within the church.

He denied having publicised or published the recording.  According to Mkhatjwa, its contents were correct and truthful of the plaintiff (Delisa).

Mkhatjwa’s attorney argued that Delisa’s contract had expired when she wrote the article on March 29, 2020. Acting Judge Thwala said he did not understand the benefit, if any, that Mkhatjwa stood to gain for his case, even if the allegation was true. The distribution of the recording, according to Mkhatjwa, was meant for the church governing council members, which he argued did not amount to publication.

In his evidence, Mkhatjwa informed the court that the recording was intended for private use and was distributed to 10 members of the church council, but it was leaked and went viral. He conceded that he did not make any effort to verify the truthfulness of the contents of the recording by calling Pastor Justice, Delisa or any other source before publication.

The acting judge noted that Delisa’s submissions contained substance and merit, and she remained resolute in her claim. 

Contradictions 

On the other hand, Judge Thwala said Mkhatjwa’s case was marred by too many detractions and contradictions, including paying too much attention on the March 30, 2020 article.

The court, according to the judge, was at pains trying to understand the relevance of the article to Mkhatjwa’s case. The judge also noted that one of the witnesses, Mcolisi Mdziniso, was visibly jittery and uncomfortable before court and he brought no substantive facts to prove Delisa’s misconduct.

“I refuse to rely on his evidence, especially the part about the plaintiff’s alleged E15 000 demand. Indeed it was a very reckless move by the defendant to record and then proceed to distribute material about the plaintiff without first making efforts to verify the truthfulness of same,” said the judge.

The court said the publication was achieved when Mkhatjwa posted the audio to the 10 members of the church governing council and also when it went viral. This, according to the judge, was acknowledged by Mkhatjwa. 

Acting Judge Thwala further said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the defendant’s statements did impute an element of dishonesty upon the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society. The words uttered by the defendant in the audio clip are capable of being interpreted as being wrongful.”

The audio clip, according to the court, was composed and published voluntarily.  The judge also said Mkhatjwa had failed to establish the truthfulness of the allegations that he made against Delisa. 

The judge said he was of the view that an award of E80 000 would be fair and reasonable for defamation. Mkhatjwa was also ordered to pay costs of the proceedings.

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