HARARE
–
Mashonaland
West
Minister
of
State
for
Provincial
Affairs
and
Devolution,
Marian
Chombo
has
been
ordered
to
pay
the
full
US$100,000
in
legal
fees
accrued
when
she
filed
for
divorce
with
former
cabinet
minister
Ignatius
Chombo
through
the
services
of
Harare
based
law-firm
Nyambirai
and
Mtetwa
in
2011.
Marian
Chombo
has
been
avoiding
to
pay
the
money
arguing,
among
other
reasons,
that
the
fee
was
too
exorbitant.
She
had
suggested
a
reduced
fee
of
US$50,000
as
fair
compensation.
Chombo
also
testified
that
she
made
efforts
to
settle
the
debt
by
offering
stands
received
from
the
divorce
settlement.
However,
when
the
plaintiff
attempted
to
verify
the
existence
and
value
of
the
stands,
it
was
discovered
that
the
stand
numbers
provided
did
not
correspond
with
any
existing
properties.
High
Court
judge
Joel
Mambara,
in
a
recent
judgement,
ordered
Chombo
to
pay
the
money
although
she
had
shown
leniency.
“The
defendant’s
defences
lack
merit
and
are
inconsistent
wi8th
her
own
admissions
and
actions,”
said
the
judge.
“The
acknowledgment
of
debt
remains
binding,
and
the
court
disregards
the
belatedly
raised
defences.
“Costs
were
claimed
on
the
legal
practitioner
and
client
scale.
“Despite
the
spurious
defences
raised
in
her
papers,
she
made
an
undertaking
to
pay
for
the
excellent
legal
services
rendered
by
the
defendant
once
she
was
in
a
position
to
pay.
“In
the
result,
the
defendant
is
ordered
to
pay
the
plaintiff
the
sum
of
US$100,000
or
its
equivalent
in
Zimbabwean
dollars
at
the
prevailing
exchange
rate
on
the
date
of
payment.
“The
defendant
is
ordered
to
pay
interest
at
the
prescribed
rate
from
the
date
of
summons
to
the
date
of
full
payment.
The
defendant
shall
pay
the
costs
of
suit.”
Marian
Chombo
engaged
the
law
firm
in
June
2011
to
represent
her
in
divorce
proceedings
that
were
already
before
the
High
Court
under
case
number
HC
4409/09.
The
law
firm,
through
Mtetwa,
took
over
the
matter
and
filed
a
notice
of
assumption
of
agency
with
the
court.
The
law
firm
provided
extensive
legal
services,
including
attending
numerous
pre-trial
conferences
and
filing
various
interlocutory
applications.
“One
such
application
was
for
the
rescission
of
an
order
striking
out
the
defendant’s
plea
and
dismissing
her
counterclaim
in
the
divorce
action,”
the
court
heard.
The
plaintiff
also
successfully
applied
for
the
removal
of
the
matter
from
the
roll
to
allow
for
the
determination
of
the
rescission
application.
These
applications
resulted
in
positive
outcomes
for
the
defendant.
Negotiations
between
the
defendant
and
her
then-husband
led
to
a
partial
settlement
of
proprietary
issues,
which
culminated
in
a
consent
order
granted
by
the
court
on
31
August
2012.
The
court
heard
that
outstanding
issues
were
however
referred
to
trial,
and
Chombo
continued
to
receive
legal
representation
from
the
plaintiff.
Despite
the
extensive
work
done
by
the
lawyers,
Chombo
did
not
make
any
payments
towards
the
legal
fees.
On
2
September
2014,
she
signed
an
acknowledgment
of
debt,
agreeing
to
pay
US$100,000
in
two
instalments
of
US$50,000
each.
The
first
instalment
was
due
end
of
September
2014,
and
the
balance
was
to
be
paid
by
mid-December
2014.
Chombo
however,
failed
to
honour
this
acknowledgment,
prompting
the
law
firm
to
issue
summons
in
January
2024,
seeking
payment
of
the
agreed
amount.
Chris
Kathryn
Lisa
Olga
