Third Woman With Allegations Against Former DLA Piper Partner Says He’s A Bully Who Called Her A ‘Dumb B*tch’

Louis Lehot

A third woman has come forward to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with allegations about the inappropriate behavior of former DLA Piper partner Louis Lehot. Leah M. Christensen, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law and former Professional Responsibility Counsel within the firm’s Office of General Counsel, claims Lehot acted like a “textbook bully” and was allowed to get away with it because of the size of his book of business, saying:

Lehot is a textbook bully. There is simply no other way to describe him. He bulldozed his way through DLA Piper like a tank, rolling over anything or anyone in his way. In order to get his way, Lehot yelled, threatened, intimidated and terrorized people around him. I know because I was one of the people around him.

She also says that when, in the course of her work, she spoke with Lehot about his interpretation of an ethics rule, he lashed out calling her a “dumb bitch”:

For example, one time when I told Lehot that he was not following the ethics rules, in front of other DLA staff, Lehot called me a “dumb bitch.” I reported Lehot’s abusive conduct and “loose” interpretation of the ethics rules during our weekly department meetings to my boss, Peter Lindau, Assistant General Counsel, and to Joe Davis, Associate General Counsel. Nothing was done.

The allegations against Lehot are starting to pile up. Earlier this month, DLA Piper partner Vanina Guerrero alleged that Lehot repeatedly sexually assaulted her. She asked the firm to release her from their mandatory arbitration agreement so she can pursue her claims in court. The firm has been conspicuously silent on the forced arbitration agreement — despite the attention their arbitration stance in this case has garnered, but, they did announce that Lehot had been let go from the firm. But the firm also put Guerrero on administrative leave, saying they’d uncovered allegations against her unrelated to Lehot during their investigation of her claims. Lehot released a statement contesting the allegations against him and saying Guerrero was “exploiting” the #MeToo movement. Then a second woman, an anonymous HR manager, came forward with her own allegations against Lehot, saying he made her “physically afraid,” and further alleging the firm let her go when she complained about Lehot.

As part of Christensen’s letter to the EEOC, she also says she’s been contacted by other women at the firm who’ve had similar experiences with Lehot but are “too scared” to come forward.


headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Maximize Revenue & Efficiency With The Right IP Operations Strategy

Among the most vital examples of the application of business discipline and strong process to the legal function is the burgeoning field of IP operations. The capacity to carefully manage and extract maximum value from intellectual property assets can be the difference between a thriving company and a fading also-ran.

On October 31st at 1 p.m. ET, join us for a free webinar, The IP Operations Landscape, moderated by leading industry consultant Brad Blickstein. Brad will be joined by Annya Dushine of CPA Global and Amy Gagich of Koch Industries and our program will explore the following topics, among others:

  • The four pillars of IP operations — people, processes, technology, data — that define the field;
  • Benchmarking your organization by way of the IP ops “maturity spectrum”;
  • Firsthand case study of how one of the U.S.’s largest privately held corporations implemented a successful IP ops function; and
  • Analysis of the first-ever demographic study of the professionals developing the IP ops field.

Student Loans Can Be The Homewrecker In A Marriage

While married life is a happy one (I say this solely based on my friends’ social media postings), sometimes student loans can be the homewrecker. Student loans have been blamed for people delaying marriages and starting families. It also complicates financial and tax planning for couples. Finally, it might be the deciding factor in a divorce. So let’s look at a few events in a married couple’s life and how student loans can affect them.

Before getting married

As I mentioned in a previous article, a large student loan should not be a barrier to marriage. A marriage can last even if one or both spouses have large student loan debts. Before getting married, each person should disclose their total student loan debt to the other and have a plan to manage and ultimately pay off or settle the loan.

Refinancing their loans while married

For some married couples, as their joint income increases, it might make them think differently about what to do with their debt. For example, a couple on an income-based repayment plan might want to pay the balance in full in 10 years rather than pay for 20 or 25 years until forgiveness if only a small amount of the debt will be forgiven.

In this case, the couple might want to either consolidate their loans or combine them into a private loan with a lower interest rate. But some banks will agree only if both spouses’ names are on the loan or if one spouse co-signs the other.

Personally, I would run from any lender that demanded this. If there is one thing I don’t want to share with the person I love, it is my massive debt.

For those who live in community property states, refinancing your pre-marriage student loan debt during marriage could convert it into a community debt where each spouse will be liable for one-half of the debt. In most community property states, any debt incurred during marriage is considered a community debt while any debt incurred outside of marriage is a separate property debt.

When a student loan is refinanced during marriage, some states view this as a community debt because community funds were being used to pay off older separate property debt. But other states do not see a refinance as a conversion into community property so long as only one spouse refinances his or her own debt without the other spouse’s involvement.

I think the latter is the better way to go. Otherwise, one spouse might be tempted to secretly refinance the loan in order to convert their separate property loan into a community property loan.

Divorce

Every state has its own rules and nuances on how student loans are divided (or not) between spouses in a divorce. While I am sure an entire column can be devoted to this topic alone, for now I suggest checking with your state’s rules to see when a spouse must pay the other’s student loans in a divorce.

The law may not be black and white. For example, in California, student loans generally must be paid by the party who received the education unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. But a court can say otherwise it if it thinks the result will be unjust. In this situation, the court looks at whether the community substantially benefitted from the training or the loan, whether the other spouse has a similar education, and whether the education or training resulted in gainful employment which reduced the need for support. For example, if student loan money was used to pay rent in a fancy apartment for the formerly married couple, the court is likely to find that the community benefitted from the loan proceeds.

Also, a couple where one or both spouses are on an IBR plan may be tempted to divorce and structure their dissolution in a way that minimizes loan payments and the cancellation of debt income tax described below. A few couples might divorce on paper while continuing to live as spouses. But most couples might have troubled marriages and the possibility of avoiding a huge income tax bill can be the incentive they need to divorce instead of staying together.

Tax planning

Tax planning for those on income-based repayment plans takes a different turn when student loans are involved.

Couples may need to determine whether it is financially efficient to file jointly or separately. An easy way to calculate a monthly repayment plan through an income-based repayment program is to look at the debtor’s adjusted gross income (AGI) on their tax returns. Most income based repayment programs look at only the debtor’s AGI when filing single or married filing separately. But when they file jointly, the monthly payment looks the joint AGI which can result in a higher monthly payment.

As a result, some married couples will file separately in order to pay lower student loan taxes. The problem is that in most cases, filing separately will result in higher taxes because they are taxed at a different bracket and lose certain deductions and credits — like the student loan interest deduction and the child tax credit, to name a few.

And of course, when the loans are forgiven, the forgiven amount is includible as taxable income — otherwise known as the infamous “tax bomb.” In a few years, we will see all kinds of techniques taxpayers can use to avoid or minimize the effects of the income tax bomb.

The most common way to minimize cancellation of debt income is to show insolvency. This is where the taxpayers show that their liabilities exceed their assets. Business structures will be customized to minimize income to the debtor spouse. Estate plans may include early gifting of assets. Divorces may be structured where the debtor spouse gets little to no assets. All of this could defuse the tax bomb.

Being married with student loans can be done with the proper planning before and during the marriage. But in case it does not work out at some point, at least it might give an opportunity to avoid a huge income tax debt.

If you live in Southern California and want to know more about some of the tax strategies I mentioned above, I am giving a presentation before the Pasadena Section of CalCPA on Monday, October 28, 2019 at 12 p.m. Click here for more details and registration information. This presentation may be eligible for CLE credit. But most importantly, the venue has fantastic Mexican food.


Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at sachimalbe@excite.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.

EXCELGATE || Zimbabwe’s Stolen 2018 Presidential Election – The Zimbabwean

A woman walks past election posters in Harare, Zimbabwe, 19 July, 2018. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

A 35-minute documentary published today demonstrates how the 2018 presidential election was rigged through the use of 10,985 purportedly original V11s that were inputted into an Excel spreadsheet at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) National Command Centre (NCC).

ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba repeatedly claimed that she delayed the announcement of the presidential election result because she was verifying original V11s at the NCC. This now appears untrue.

Chigumba’s claim, made under oath, could not be true under any circumstances because there are no V11s at the NCC – all V11s are sealed into election residue at Ward Collation Centres. This election residue can only be opened through a court order and no such order was issued.

So where did the 10,985 V11s Chigumba claimed to verify at the NCC come from?

That question is the subject of this gripping documentary: Excelgate – Zimbabwe’s Stolen 2018 Presidential Election (video below).

Source: Kukurigo

Global fintech company launches Digital Money Transfer to Zimbabwe

Post published in: Featured

No Woman, No Cry

Ed. note: This post is by Will Meyerhofer, a former Sullivan & Cromwell attorney turned psychotherapist. He holds degrees from Harvard, NYU Law, and The Hunter College School of Social Work, and he blogs at The People’s Therapist. His books — Still Way Worse Than Being A DentistBad Therapist: A RomanceWay Worse Than Being A Dentist, and Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy (affiliate links) — are available on Amazon.

There’s no getting out of it: This is a column discussing a syndrome in which lawyers (I suspect mostly women lawyers) sometimes cry on the job in what are arguably inappropriate situations, and the often negative (and avoidable) fallout that results.

Maybe I shouldn’t post this one.  It’ll only get me into trouble.  But what the heck — I’m here to talk about what I see and hear happening in the world of law, and darn it, this falls under that heading.

So here goes nothing:

My client had done what a lot of lawyers wind up doing at some point in their careers — tried to get herself fired.

That’s a phenomenon I see all the time in Biglaw — the unconscious attempt to get yourself fired thing.  You can’t rationally convince yourself to quit, but the irrational part of you knows it isn’t about to let you stay, either.  So, in therapist speak, you “act out on unexamined feelings.”  That manifests itself in stuff like complaining about your job a bit too loudly in places that are a bit too public.  Or coming in late.  Or not coming in.  Or just acting weird at the office without owning the fact that people are going to notice and some of them aren’t going to like it.

I urge lawyers, if they have reached that point of no return (the place where you really cannot come back and work at your firm for one more day without losing your shit) then please, go ahead and own it, and make the decision to leave in a conscious way.  It’s best to reframe all aspects of your life as conscious choices, including your career, and put your decision process into words someplace safe (like a psychotherapist’s office) so you can take back your autonomy and be the actor in your own life, instead of acting out on unconscious, unexplored emotions.

You’re allowed to quit.  There will be consequences, especially if you don’t have another job lined up, or are saddled with a heap of school debt.  But everything in life involves a cost/benefit calculus; this is just another one of those things.

The person who most needs to know what’s going on with you, so she can deal with it, is your boss.  That way, instead of wondering what the heck is going on with that associate acting like a lunatic, she can process the news that you want out and, maybe even work together with you to find a solution.

My client freely admitted she’d been broadcasting her discontent to a lot of people — other associates, secretaries, paralegals, word processors, librarians, doc reviewers, you name it.  In fact, if you were with her for more than a few moments, you probably heard how miserable she was, along with a stream of complaints and criticism about her firm.

Sure enough, a partner she worked with eventually took her aside and said, “I’ve been hearing you’re unhappy.  Why don’t we set up a time to talk?”  They agreed my client would come by her office the next morning.

And that’s when my client called me.

Continue reading over at The People’s Therapist…

New York Bar Exam Results Are Out, And They Look Great (July 2019)

(Image via Getty)

The results for the July 2019 administration of the New York bar exam are out, and following the news that the national average score on the MBE section of the exam saw the largest increase since 2008, they’re looking fantastic.

According to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, 10,071 examinees — an increase of 392 candidates from last year — sat for the test this summer. Of those examinees, 65 percent passed the New York bar exam, an increase of 2 percentage points from the July 2018 exam. The overall pass rate for first-time takers was 76 percent, an increase of 2 percentage points from the July 2018 exam. Compared to last year, this is great news.

Look at these New York bar statistics to see how the July 2019 results compare:

Year All Candidates All First-Time Takers All First-Time ABA Takers
July 2004 67.4 percent passed 76.5 percent passed 83.1 percent passed
July 2005 67 percent passed 75.9 percent passed 82.7 percent passed
July 2006 69.5 percent passed 79.4 percent passed 86.7 percent passed
July 2007 70.6 percent passed 79.1 percent passed 87 percent passed
July 2008 74.7 percent passed 83.2 percent passed 90.5 percent passed
July 2009 72 percent passed 80 percent passed 88.2 percent passed
July 2010 70 percent passed 78 percent passed 86 percent passed
July 2011 69.2 percent passed 78.5 percent passed 86.1 percent passed
July 2012 68 percent passed 76 percent passed 83 percent passed
July 2013 69 percent passed 78 percent passed 86 percent passed
July 2014 65 percent passed 74 percent passed 83 percent passed
July 2015 61 percent passed 70 percent passed 79 percent passed
July 2016 64 percent passed 73 percent passed 83 percent passed
July 2017 68 percent passed 78 percent passed 86 percent passed
July 2018 63 percent passed 74 percent passed 83 percent passed
July 2019 65 percent passed 76 percent passed 86 percent passed

Some may blame the record high number of foreign-educated candidates who took the exam for this past summer’s results, which were pretty good but could have been even better. For the July 2019 exam, a record 3,559 foreign-educated examinees sat for the test, accounting for 35 percent of all candidates who took the exam. The overall pass rate for this group was just 43 percent (an increase of 2 percentage points from the July 2018 exam), and the overall first-time pass rate for this group was only 53 percent (an increase of 3 percentage points from the July 2018 exam) — and while these increases are worthy of kudos, these candidates still dragged down the overall pass rates for all others who sat for the exam this summer.

Let’s get back to the good news. First-time takers from ABA-accredited law schools saw their pass rates increase by 3 percentage points from the July 2018 exam to 86 percent, matching July 2017’s success rate. The pass rate for first-time takers from New York ABA-accredited law schools also rose to 85 percent (an increase of 4 percentage points from July 2018). Since we mentioned ABA schools, now is a good time to remind law schools that just because the UBE may be “easier” to pass than prior state iterations of the test, it is no excuse to admit students whose performance and success on the bar exam may be questionable at best. Admissions standards must remain stable so that those who bet their lives and careers on a legal education don’t wind up in a worse position than what they started with.

Congratulations to you if you were able to pass the bar exam in New York this summer. If you didn’t pass, don’t despair. Many successful people have failed the bar exam (see our list of famous bar exam failures). Focus on February and develop a plan for passing. Believe in yourselves, because you can — eventually — do it!

Press Release: NY Bar Exam Results – July 2019 [New York Board of Law Examiners]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Global fintech company launches Digital Money Transfer to Zimbabwe – The Zimbabwean

Senditoo has also signed a guarantee partnership with with leading financial institution, Banc ABC Zimbabwe, securing US dollar cash pick-ups in all Banc ABC branches across Zimbabwe.

Founded by UK based Zimbabwean Takwana Tyaranini and his Guinean business partner Ibrahima Soumano in 2016, Senditoo was an innovative service that solely focused on allowing migrants to send instant mobile phone credit to their loved ones in over 140 countries across the world.

The company’s revenue increased by over 600% globally in approximately 36 months and they have progressively become the favourite airtime transfer platform for Zimbabweans living in the UK, with 30% of their transaction volume coming from them.

The company is looking to become the leading transmittal enterprise, offering customers both the option to send airtime and money synchronously.

“We created an innovative way of sending mobile phone credit almost three years ago and it only seemed fitting to make another ground-breaking move that will make it easier for friends and family to remit money internationally at a very low cost,” Tyaranini said.

“In the last few years, Senditoo has built a sustainable brand based on transparency, and great user experience. As a result, every other week, we received emails from our current clients insisting that we add money transfer.

Our customers are at the centre of everything that we do and everything that we aim to achieve, or have achieved so far. As we continue to grow and revolutionise the way our customers transact, we want them to be part of our next journey,” he added.

Africa as a central hub for international remittance

Africa has one of the world’s most mobile populations, and African nations account for a large part of the expanding global remittance market.

Tyaranini said that with Africa’s infrastructure, the continent has a significant advantage that can drive remittances across the globe and promote financial inclusion, particularly through mobile money.

“Digital transformation is helping the flow of money and connecting more people around the world and that is where Senditoo comes in,” Tyaranini said.

Customers are being offered a number of incentives and signing up with Senditoo to remit money in the next three months will see them receive a £5 discount on their first transfer. They will also get £5 every time they refer a friend to the service and will receive a Senditoo T-shirt when they send £100 or more.

SA Express announces daily flights between Johannesburg and Bulawayo

Post published in: Business

Happy Hal-law-ween from Legal Talk Network

Whether you’re carving pumpkins or raking leaves, legal podcasts make your Halloween educational and productive as well as spooky. This month on Legal Talk Network, new episodes featured relevant topics like the impeachment proceedings, lawyer mental health, and criminal justice issues. Or if you’d rather learn about how to run your firm more effectively, episodes also include advice on getting the right clients, writing blogs, and maintaining functional branding. So sit back with your bowl of leftover Halloween candy and enjoy the newest podcasts from Legal Talk Network.

Inside Impeachment

This September, Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. Hear about the inquiry and the process from a legal perspective as well as what the proceedings could mean for the presidency, whether they’re successful or not.

Did You Really Read Those Terms of Service?

As brain-numbing as it is, the only way to fully trust your cloud service with your data is by reading their terms of service. This episode dives into what to look for in these documents and how to break down the language used by common vendors.

What Lawyers Need to Know to Succeed in the Marketplace

If you’re getting a lot done but you’re completely stressed out, it might be time to rethink your processes. Tune in for advice on the importance of addressing stress and creating business goals based on your values in order to meet both your personal and professional needs.

Insight, Intake, Discovery: Making Less Equal More

Connecting, not just with clients, but the right clients, is essential to thriving as a lawyer. Here are some key tips to help attorneys filter leads efficiently while maintaining meaningful client relationships throughout the process.

Criminal justice experts hope tech can more easily help people expunge prior convictions and arrests

In the US alone, around 70 million people have a criminal record which means that many people struggle to find employment, housing, and even relationships. This episode addresses these issues by looking into research about the expungement and sealing of criminal records.

The Challenges Facing In-House Counsel In 2019

Diving into the in-house world, this episode exposes the challenges of going in-house including a recent comprehensive survey of corporate legal departments the revealed confusion over privacy requirements and complaints about outside counsel costs.

Did Social Media Kill Blogs?

Are content-heavy blogs a dying breed? Tune in to hear about what factors are affecting blog trends and why blogs continue to be a relevant content medium for tech-savvy lawyers. Keep listening for bonus tips on finding reliable tech reviews.

Branding for Lawyers: What You Should and Shouldn’t Do

Standing out to potential clients is important to a lawyer’s marketing strategy. This episode expands on how to approach legal marketing and what lawyers need to remember in order to ensure their marketing strategies adhere to compliance rules.

Dealing With the Pressures of Law School

How can law students get the most out of their education without getting buried in their workload? Tune in for advice on managing your mental health and wellness while also experiencing the intense expectations of law school.

The Keep Calm and Lawyer On Edition: A Candid Discussion about Mental Health and Addiction in the Legal Profession

Being a lawyer is stressful, to say the least. Tune in for a candid conversation about lawyer mental health and addiction as well as thoughts on how the legal industry, in general, can collectively cultivate a greater sense of wellness.

Conference Coverage:

CLA 2019 Annual Meeting

The California Lawyer’s Association hosted its annual three-day event on October 10th through the 12th. Legal Talk Network attended and captured interviews with different sections of the associations as well as association leaders. Tune in for updates within the sections and other timely topics

Clio Cloud Conference 2019

On October 21st through the 22nd, Legal Talk Network was on the floor of the Clio Cloud Conference 2019, documenting conversations about everything legal with notable attendees. Included are strategies and advice for firms of all sizes and fresh legal perspectives on industry current events.

Morning Docket: 10.23.19

* Attorneys general from 47 states are now conducting antitrust investigations of Facebook. The other three attorneys general must still have MySpace… [CNN]

* An ex-Manafort attorney has been retained by indicted Giuliani associate Igor Fruman — hope the lawyer has better luck this time. [Politico]

* Amber Guyger, the Dallas police officer convicted of killing her neighbor in his own home, has filed a notice of appeal. [CNN]

* Trump administration lawyers argued before a federal appeals court yesterday that unauthorized immigrants should be detained indefinitely while seeking asylum. [San Francisco Chronicle]

* The Florida Bar is seeking to suspend an attorney with 31 ethics complaints filed against him, but the lawyer is nowhere to be found. Maybe he’s with Saul Goodman… [Tampa Bay Times]


Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

Breast, cervical cancer, Zimbabwe’s new twin evils – The Zimbabwean

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Four years ago, breast cancer claimed the life of her mother. Now, 34-year-old Thembi Bhebhe, a high school teacher by profession, is battling cervical cancer, bed-ridden at her Harare home, the Zimbabwean capital.

In Chitungwiza, a town 25 kilometers (16 miles) southeast of Harare, 46-year-old Megan Saruwaka, a mother of four, is battling breast cancer, which she says doctors have classified as having reached stage four, meaning it has reached its advanced stage.

Breast cancer has become Zimbabwe’s new health headache, and it is not alone, having teamed up with cervical cancer, becoming the poor country’s loathed twin evils in the health sector.

Hammered by one of the two, now Megan’s situation is beyond redemption, she said.

“I’m in pain, dying is better, I wait for my day to rest from this pain,” Megan told Anadolu Agency as she winced in pain, lying in bed in her room as despondent loved ones encircled her.

For any cancer patients like Megan and Thembi, “what decides the treatment depends on the stage of the cancer,” according to oncologist Patrick Hungwe in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city.

“Each stage is cured differently, with early breast or cervical cancer detection, one can be saved before cancer cells start spreading throughout the lungs, liver and the brain,” Hungwe said.

For Thembi, even as she hopes for chemotherapy treatment sessions, her hope of survival is slowly fading away as Zimbabwean doctors have remained on strike for over two months now, demanding increased wages.

“There are no doctors at hospitals and I can only afford to be treated at government hospitals. I’m afraid the absence of doctors reduces my hopes to win against cancer,” Thembi told Anadolu Agency.

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the number of annual cancer deaths globally reached at 8.2 million, adding that the numbers were expected to triple by 2030.

With breast and cervical cancers as the country’s twin evils haunting hundreds of women here like Thembi and Megan, the Health and Child Care Ministry says approximately 1,500 women are succumbing to cervical cancer each year.

Not only that, but Zimbabwe’s Cancer Association says breast cancer alone is claiming more than one thousand women every year in the southern African nation.

Even health experts here concur cervical and breast cancer have wreaked havoc in Zimbabwe.

“You would realize that because of poverty and lack of knowledge many women are discovering too late that they have breast or cervical cancer; women are delaying to be screened for these cancers and that is why we are having many of them succumbing to the diseases,” Hillary Goto, a private oncologist based in Harare, told Anadolu Agency.

But women rights activists here have blamed government for the deaths of their colleagues from breast or cervical cancer.

“Government is solely responsible for the lack of service in hospitals and that means cancer patients like women with breast or cervical cancer are at the receiving end of the crisis in hospitals as they die before getting help,” Linet Chaota, a member of the NGO Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), told Anadolu Agency.

Cancer Association of Zimbabwe is currently carrying out a month-long free cancer screening as part of commemorations of the World Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is observed in October across the world.

WOZA is a Zimbabwean civic movement formed in 2003 to provide women from all walks of life with a united voice to speak out on issues affecting their day-to-day lives, according to Amnesty International.

“Some well-to-do women cancer patients are having to cross to neighboring countries like South Africa to seek treatment,” according to women rights defender Chaota.

But, the likes of Thembi and Megan are having to bear the brunt of the disease holed up in their homes, because to Chaota, “many women suffering from either breast or cervical cancer can’t afford to seek medication outside the country”.

“The poor are just dying in their homes with no care or treatment,” said Chaota.

According to Zimbabwe’s Cancer Registry, from 6,548 registered cases of cancer in 2013, figures have shot up to 9,220 in 2018.

For breast cancer, registered cases went up from 246 to 487 in the same period, the same time period that the disease caught up with many like Thembi and Megan.

Out of 2,062 recorded cancer-related deaths so far in Zimbabwe, breast cancer has been responsible for 7% of the fatalities, with cervical cancer being the highest killer accounting for 13% cancer deaths in the country.

Meanwhile, the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe has been on record in the media saying breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers today, with the number of cases worldwide having significantly rose since the 1970s.