The Plaintiff’s claim against the Defendants is for general
and special damages for libel. The first Defendant is the proprietor of
Paradise Guest House in Mafinga Township. The suit is founded on an anonymous
letter to the editor which was published in the Nipashe Newspaper of 26th
March, 2003. The letter complained referred to a person it claimed was
masquerading as being involved in the Mafinga-Mgololo road project as being a
conman, womanizing, boozing between bars and that that person claimed to have
been stolen of his mobile phone at one guest house and demanded to be
compensated for the mobile stolen. The letter also stated that it was feared
that that person was involved in spreading HIV and AIDS in his frolics. The
evidence led by the Plaintiff sufficiently establishes that the Plaintiff was
the one who was in the road project referred to and was the one whose cell
phone was stolen and demanded to be compensated of his stolen mobile phone by
the first Defendant. The letter was undoubtedly an innuendo to the Plaintiff.
The plaintiff was allowed to amend the Plaint. The application was sturdily
resisted by the first Defendant. He argued that the provisions of Order VI rule
17 of the Civil Procedure Code cannot be brought into play after the First
Pre-Trial Conference. The application was time-barred. He added that the
provisions of Order VIIIA rule 4 of the Civil Procedure Code prohibit departure
from the scheduling order and further amendments.