By Ziyah News Reporter
Marian Chombo, the Minister of State for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution, has been ordered by the High Court to pay $100,000 in legal fees stemming from her divorce from former cabinet minister Ignatius Chombo, a case that dates back to 2011.
The ruling followed a long-standing legal dispute regarding the unpaid fees incurred during her divorce proceedings. Marian Chombo initially hired the Harare-based law firm Nyambirai and Mtetwa to represent her.
After the divorce, she disputed the $100,000 fee, claiming it was excessive and proposing a reduced payment of $50,000 as fair compensation.
Chombo asserted that she attempted to settle the debt by offering residential stands she received from the divorce settlement. However, the law firm found that the stand numbers she provided did not match any existing properties, raising doubts about her claims.
High Court Judge Joel Mambara dismissed Chombo’s defenses as lacking merit, noting they were inconsistent with her previous admissions and actions.
He ruled that her signed acknowledgment of debt was legally binding. The judge ordered Chombo to pay the full amount of $100,000, or its equivalent in Zimbabwean dollars at the current exchange rate.
She is also required to pay interest from the date of the summons until full payment, along with the legal costs incurred by the law firm.
The legal dispute began in June 2011 when Chombo engaged Nyambirai and Mtetwa to manage her ongoing divorce case (HC 4409/09) in the High Court.
The firm provided comprehensive legal services, including filing multiple applications and attending pre-trial conferences.
An outcome of their work was the successful rescission of an order that had previously dismissed Chombo’s counterclaim, which facilitated negotiations with her ex-husband and led to a partial settlement of property disputes finalized through a consent order on August 31, 2012.