PROMINENT Bulawayo businessman, Mr Delma Lupepe, has approached the courts seeking recourse over nearly US$2 million he allegedly lost to a local supplier, in a failed mining equipment supply deal.
A former industrialist, who once owned the now-defunct Merlin Clothing Company and ran Amazulu Football Club, Mr Lupepe has since ventured into mining.
He engaged Mr Shlomo Yosef Lepar to supply mining equipment valued at approximately US$2 million, financed through a bank loan.
The matter is now set to be heard in court after Mr Lupepe, through his legal representatives Mashayamombe Attorneys, filed papers demanding compensation.
Mr Shlomo Yosef Lepar
According to court documents, on February 5, 2018, Mr Lepar provided Mr Lupepe with a comprehensive collection schedule for the mining equipment and advised him to collect it from his warehouse. However, it is alleged that Mr Lepar subsequently blocked the collection by demanding exorbitant storage fees.
Later, on December 4, 2018, Mr Lepar initiated “interpleader proceedings” against Mr Lupepe, claiming that Yatakala Pvt Ltd, trading as Viking Hardware, was in possession of the mining equipment but had no vested interest in it.
Through his lawyers, Mr Lepar sought a court determination on whether Mr Lupepe or Fidelity Printers was the rightful owner of the equipment.
However, the case was not concluded, as Mr Lepar allegedly devised a plan to permanently deprive Mr Lupepe of the equipment. He withdrew both the interpleader and action proceedings, according to the court papers.
On October 31, 2019, Mr Lepar cancelled the contract of sale, notifying Mr Lupepe’s lawyers by letter, and remitted ZWL$1 808 829 to the complainants’ account at the prevailing 1:1 interbank rate.
“Scheming further to deprive the complainant permanently of his mining equipment, the accused on November 5, 2020 unilaterally transferred ZWL$1 808 829 into the complainant’s lawyers, Mashayamombe Attorneys, under CBZ Trust account without the consent of Mr Lupepe or his legal representatives,” the court papers state.
A copy of the banking transaction is expected to be presented in court as evidence.
“The accused went on to dispose of the complainant’s mining equipment and consumables valued at US$1 808 829 without obtaining a court order,” the documents further allege.
Among the equipment in question are a FAW diesel truck engine (value not specified), a FEIHE diesel compressor valued at approximately US$20 500 and a 4×4 tractor, worth around US$79 005.
The court papers also state that the accused “neglected or disregarded the existence of the pending High Court case HC1958/20, with intent to deprive the complainant permanently of the property.”
Through his legal team, Mr Lupepe is now seeking repayment of the funds in United States dollars.
Subsequently, on March 23, 2022, Mr Lupepe reimbursed the sum of ZWL$1 808 829 to the accused’s CBZ account number 21276325606 from Coghlan and Welsh Trust Barclays Account number 23880930017, held by his lawyers, Mashayamombe Attorneys.
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