Source: ZCDC directors face prosecution – DailyNews Live
Tendai Kamhungira 11 May 2017
HARARE – Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) directors –
including Mines ministry permanent secretary Francis Gudyanga – face
prosecution after the firm defied a court order barring it from looting
Grandwell Holdings’ (Grandwell) diamond ore in Chiadzwa.
Grandwell, which holds a 50 percent stake in Mbada Diamonds (Mbada), was
granted the order by the High Court on February 24.
And recently, the State-run diamond miner was given an ultimatum to comply
with the order or risk getting its appeal thrown out.
Through its lawyer, Sternford Moyo from Scanlen & Holderness, Grandwell
has written a letter to Gudyanga, ZCDC directors David Edgar Hoover
Murangari and Morris Mpofu, demanding they comply with the court order or
face legal action in their personal capacities.
“The court orders have not been observed, particularly in that collection
of ore from the area covered by the orders has continued and so has
interference with Mbada Diamonds’ security arrangements. The security
personnel are being prevented from executing their duties by ZCDC and
Zimbabwe Republic Police in acts of brazen and criminal contempt of High
Court orders.
“Entirely without prejudice to legal action against you in your personal
capacity in respect of acts of contempt of court and the loss already
suffered by Grandwell Holdings and Mbada Diamonds, we are instructed to
demand, as we hereby do, immediate stoppage of the wrongful and criminal
contempt,” reads the letters dated May 9, 2017.
Mbada was among one of the companies that were forced to leave the
diamond-rich fields in Chiadzwa by the government early last year to pave
way for the establishment of ZCDC.
However, the firm was granted a court order allowing its security
personnel to return to Chiadzwa and secure its equipment, diamond ore and
unprocessed diamonds kept in a vault.
It later filed another successful urgent chamber application for
spoliation, which resulted in an order of February 24, 2017, being granted
against ZCDC.
The order was not complied with, forcing Mbada to rush back to court where
another order was handed down, giving ZCDC an ultimatum.
“It is ordered that: pending the appeal filed by the first respondent
(ZCDC) under case number SC 159/2017, the first and second respondents
(Chihuri) and those acting on their behalf be and are hereby interdicted
from collecting, from third respondent’s (Mbada) concession area, diamond
ore mined by the third respondent, accessing areas secured by security
personnel of the third respondent or otherwise interfering in any manner
with such security arrangements in relation to the said concession area as
per interim relief granted by this honourable court on the 24th of
February 2017.
“Should the first and second respondents fail to comply with paragraph 1
above and to purge their failure to comply with the interim order granted
by Justice (Amie) Tsanga on the 24th of February 2017 under case number
1290/17, they shall be denied audience before this honourable court and
any papers filed by them shall be struck out of the record,” the court
ruled.
COMMENTS