Doves owner Farai Matsika loses Supreme Court appeal on Croco shareholding

Source: Doves owner Farai Matsika loses Supreme Court appeal on Croco shareholding – NewsDay Zimbabwe

By Desmond Chingarande
Businessman Farai Matsika has lost a Supreme Court appeal against a High Court case on the grounds that he had “fabricated documents” in a bid to grab a 30% stake in Croco Holdings (Croco).

This came after the Doves and Faramatsi Motors owner, had tried to wriggle out of a ruling by Justice Owen Tagu and in his appeal, Matsika had demanded a forensic audit, and valuation of Croco owner Moses Chingwena’s sprawling empire of 40 entities.

“In this case, the court considered all the evidence and came to the conclusion that the documents relied upon by the 1st applicant (Matsika) were forged (or) fraudulent documents. The applicant’s contention is that the shareholders’ agreement and the share certificate are authentic and valid because they were prepared and signed by (Phibeon) Gwatidzo…(and) accuses the court a quo of ignoring evidence he proffered..,” Justice Chinembiri Bhunu said.

“Both the shareholders’ agreement and the share transfer documents were adjudged to be fraudulent documents. It also found that…the applicant was unable to explain two conflicting CR2 documents. Thus, the court a quo upheld both points in limine.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling came after Matsika’s application had been found to be riddled with material falsehoods, as the Baker Tilly founding partner Phibeon Gwatidzo had denied preparing the shareholders agreement.