Apology Deadline Missed As Advocate Mpofu Refuses To Retract Comments On Fuzwayo

Prominent lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu has brushed aside an ultimatum from Ibhetshu LikaZulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo to apologise and retract remarks said to have questioned Fuzwayo’s financial standing.

In a letter dated 4 February 2026, written by Fuzwayo’s lawyer, Nqobani Sithole, Mpofu is accused of portraying the activist as financially destitute.

Sithole claims that on 28 February 2026, Mpofu alleged that Fuzwayo “does not even have US$10 in his pocket” and had failed to pay his legal representatives.

The statements, Sithole said, were false, malicious and damaging, painting Fuzwayo as a pauper unable to meet his financial obligations.

He described the remarks as defamatory, arguing that they portrayed his client as both impoverished and irresponsible.

The letter demanded an immediate written retraction and a public apology, with the retraction to be published on Mpofu’s X account within two days and given the same prominence as the original post.

Mpofu was also warned to refrain from making any further defamatory statements.

Sithole added that failure to comply would leave his client with no option but to institute defamation proceedings, including a claim for damages, without further notice.

However, by midday on 9 February 2026, three days after Mpofu shared the letter on his X page, no apology or retraction had been issued, and the original post remained online.

The dispute has taken on an added twist following the resurfacing of a November 2025 interview with The NewsHawks, in which Fuzwayo himself stated that he had only US$10 in his pocket.

At the time, speculation was rife that his Constitutional Court application challenging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s proposed term extension was being covertly funded by ZANU PF.

Those allegations suggested the case was a collusive exercise designed to fail and thereby create a legal pathway for extending the president’s tenure.

Fuzwayo dismissed such claims, saying he did not rely on donors and would continue working with communities “with or without money”.

During the interview with The NewsHawks on 11 November 2025, Fuzwayo was quoted as saying:

“Right now, while people are busy saying I have been paid to file the court application, which is false, I only have US$10 in my pocket. That’s all the money I have for everything I need.

“I have nothing to my name worth talking about, but we fight for ordinary people all over the country.