Manikai won’t dignify threats to report him to LSZ with his response

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Staff Reporter

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s lawyer Edwin Manikai has rubbished threats by Sybeth Musengezi’s lawyers to report him to the Law Society of Zimbabwe as out of order and not worth a response.

Manikai, who is representing President Mnangagwa in a court case where Musengezi is challenging his legitimacy as leader of Zanu PF, told Zimbabwe Observer that he would not dignify such red herring with his response.

This comes after Manikai wrote to Musengezi through his lawyer Alec Muchadehama demanding withdrawal of the case within seven days or face heavy legal costs.

Muchadehama, of Ncube Attorneys c/o Mbidzo Muchadehama and Makoni responded with a hard-hitting letter attacking Manikai.

“We confirm receipt of your letter dated 11th November 2021. The contents of your letter have been considered and for the record, what is being clearly demonstrated by your letter is unethical and unprofessional conduct,” Muchadehama wrote.

“We note with concern that you are using “bullying” tactics and these tactics shall be strongly resisted, as such your conduct has been reported to the Law Society of Zimbabwe. Our client shall be filling an answering affidavit and the matter shall proceed to be heard in court,” the law firm said.

“This red herring doesn’t deserve of a response from me, and I will just let due process take its course. As you know very well after 36 years of practice I know the basics of judicious and professional conduct that you don’t comment on matters that are sub judice,” said Manikai a senior Partner of Dube Manikai and Hwacha law firm.

Continues the Harare based law eagle: “I have been the lawyer for HE since 1987 and I have clear sight of view of proper conduct and that I am required to place a colleague on notice before seeking an adverse order of costs. Writing about this on social media is unfortunately compounding the fracture.”

Manikai’s colleagues in the law fraternity also ripped into allegations of unprofessionalism and unethical conduct being raised by Muchadehama as ‘a sick joke.’

“I wake up to a sick joke about you being reported to law society for trying to persuade the other side to see futility of persisting with a bad case. Really now? Don’t we as lawyers do this all the time? Don’t the courts take into account that one was waned their case was bad, and they carried on when considering issue of costs?” asked one Harare based senior lawyer.

Another respected lawyer who preferred anonymity wrote to Manikai saying: “…I was reading some derogatory newspaper article about you regarding the challenge against HE’s election to the helm of the Party. I am stunned by the depreciating nature of the article given the robust content of the alleged letter you wrote to the other side, suggesting a withdrawal of their apparently ill-conceived case. I am equally surprised that the quoted contents have been deemed offensive enough to warrant referral for interrogation to the law society. We indeed live in troubled times…”

Another Harare lawyer who didn’t want to be identified said threatening counsel with reporting him to LSZ was tantamount to bullying, adding that Musengezi’s lawyer had the option of approaching the courts if he believed that Manikai’s conduct was unethical.

“And if they are unethical issues of a bullying nature, which I doubt, they can be raised in court, because the letter, formal as it is, its part of litigation that will be used to determine the extent of costs when all is said and done,” reads part of another lawyer’s message of solidarity with Manikai.

The case of Musengezi v ZANU PF, Mnangagwa, and others captured the attention of the media and citizens. Musengezi says he is a member of ZANU PF who is aggrieved by how the succession of Mnangagwa to the helm of ZANU PF was handled four years ago when former leader President Robert Mugabe was toppled in a palace coup.