Ex-Chronicle Editor, Geoffrey Nyarota, Dismisses ‘Gukurahundist’ Mnangagwa’s Denialism.

Former Chronicle boss Geoffrey Nyarota who took over the reigns as editor in 1983 has dismissed as void, threats by Vice President (VP) Emmerson Mnangagwa to sue former education minister David Coltart for defamation for statements allegedly uttered by the former three decades ago.

Nyarota, a veteran journalist who left the Chronicle after the infamous Willowgate scandal that exposed top government officials in corruption argued that the VP did not complain at the time the article quoting his provocative Gukurahundi statements were published.

Nyarota who is amongst the crop of surviving journalists who became Zimpapers editors after independence further argued that if Mnangagwa was unhappy with the article he could only have sued the publication within three years.

“David Coltart is right,” Nyarota tweed today.

“Minister Munangagwa would be ill-advised to sue him for including in his new book statements attributed to the minister in The Chronicle on April 5 , 1983.

The minister never sued The Chronicle for publishing the statements. In fact the minister never even complained. Aggrieved persons have up to a total of three years to sue newspapers or other publications for defamation.”

He added: “In this case Minister Munangangwa had up to April 4, 1986, to sue for defamation. After this date the statements he now complains of became embedded in the public domain an an unchallenged record of events, which can be repeated in other publications without risk of being sued for defamation.”

Mnangagwa recently stirred the hornet’s nest when he tried to defend inflammatory statements that he allegedly uttered at a rally in Matabeleland North Province during the height of Gukurahundi in 1983.

The statements are contained in David Coltart’s autobiography which details post independence upheavals in Zimbabwe including the infamous genocide which claimed 20 000 or more people in Midlands and Matabeleland provinces. source- Zimmetro –