Court savages Harare businessman

THE High Court has savaged Harare businessman Farai Matsika, pictured, for being dishonest after fabricating documents in a bid to fraudulently snatch a 30 percent shareholding in Croco Holdings, a company owned by tycoon Moses Chingwena, the Daily News reports.

In a scathing ruling, Justice Owen Tagu on Monday threw out an application by Matsika and his firm Fairgold Investments seeking an order to have him and his immediate family declared shareholders in Croco Holdings.

Matsika, a former chief executive officer of Croco Holdings, claimed to have acquired shareholding in the firm in May 2006, but was found wanting when he produced doctored papers to make the claim.

"In this case the entire application was anchored on dishonesty. The applicants (Matsika and Fairgold) sought to seek relief from this court by fabricating documents, a fabrication as amateurish as it is disrespectful," ruled Tagu.

"But then there was method in all this madness because even the founding and answering affidavits lacked nothing in wounded pride and dignity, but contained nothing of substance. For that there must be consequences to his pocket as the only antidote in the hands of the court to show its displeasure at such brazen abuse of the process of the court.

"In the result, the application has no merit and is dismissed with costs on an attorney and client scale."

Chingwena had opposed the application on the grounds Matsika had failed to place before the court evidence showing how he got the 30 percent stake in the company.

He asserted that the documents that Matsika relied on were forgeries as evidenced by the fact that he had put the value of the shares in United States dollars despite that at the time he claimed to have acquired the shares, the country was not using that currency.

Chingwena noted that in his court papers Matsika had allotted shares in 2015 for a company registered in 1994 without explaining what was happening in between.

He argued that the application was based on material falsehoods.

Tagu agreed with Chingwena, ruling that submissions by Matsika were not satisfactory.

Questions were raised when Matsika claimed that Phibeon Gwatidzo of Baker Tilly Gwatidzo Chartered Accountants was the shares transferring secretary, but later sought to expunge Gwatidzo's affidavit.

In his affidavit, Gwatidzo stated that Baker Tilly Gwatidzo Chartered Accountants was not in existence in 2006 when Matsika claimed to have acquired the shares.

"By extension of logic, the applicants needed to explain why the share capital amount was expressed in United States currency which was not in use in Zimbabwe until sometime in 2009. They also should have taken the court into their confidence and explained how Baker Tilly Gwatidzo Chartered Accountants could have executed the share transfer documents in May 2006 when that firm only come into existence six years later in 2012.

It is clear from the answering affidavit that the applicants did not deny that Baker Tilly Gwatidzo Chartered Accountants was established in 2012.

"Therefore, it is inevitable to conclude that the shareholders' agreement and share transfer documents are fraudulent and of no probative value in the resolution of the president dispute," ruled Tagu.

"The accountant (Gwatidzo) effectively disowned the documents which the applicants claimed he prepared. That certainly cannot be inconsequential especially when the court considers that the shareholders' agreements  express the value of the authorised and issued share capital in currency which was not in use at the time," adjudged Tagu.