Mine ownership wrangle spills into courts

A wrangle over the ownership of 14 gold claims in Filabusi which has been raging on since November 2009, has spilled into the courts.

Members of the Rusununguko Mining Co-operative in charge of former Kent Killarney Mines are accusing their secretary, Emmanuel Chirwa, 41, of fraudulently selling their claims.

Two weeks ago a Bulawayo magistrate convicted Chirwa of fraud and sentenced him to four years in prison.

The co-operative members are demanding their claims back.

Court documents shown to Chronicle indicate that on a date unknown to the prosecutor but during the month of November 2009 at Kent Killarney, Filabusi, Chirwa and Edmund Sithole, 53, both members of the syndicate "unlawfully and with intent to defraud Rusununguko Mining Co-operative of its mining claims, sold 10 mining claims and then transferred another claim realising that there was a risk or possibility that actual prejudice may occur."

The duo formed the syndicate with nine other members in 2002 and bought the 14 mining claims from African Associated Mines known as Kent Killarney Mines.
They bought the claims for Z$1, 835, 000, which was paid in full over a period of nine months.

After buying the claims the co-operative intended to transfer and change names of the mining claims but could not do so because, "the seller lost certificates in 1976 and later gazetted them in 2005 so as to apply for duplicates".

The court record says at that time the co-operative was not registered  but was later registered as a company called Bialbao Trading Pvt Ltd through the registrar of companies.

In November 2005, reads the record, Chirwa was assigned by the company as secretary to facilitate the changing of names of the mining claims from the seller to their newly registered company.

He did not do as instructed but instead, in November 2009, Chirwa and Sithole "agreed to sell 10 mining claims to Simon Bowman and then transferred the 11th claim into Sithole's name."

The court record indicates that Chirwa gave Sithole $4, 000 from the undisclosed proceeds from the sale of the claims.
"In 2011 accused person number one (Chirwa) transferred another claim to Sheillah Mpofu and another one to Three Star Syndicate of which he is a member. The remaining claim was left in the name of the co-operative," reads the record.

On May 14 magistrate Chrispen Mberewere found Sithole not guilty but charged Chirwa for fraud.
He sentenced him to 48 months in prison of which 24 were conditionally suspended for five years.

The remaining 24 months were also suspended on condition Chirwa does 840 hours of community service at Knocknara Primary School.
He is expected to complete the sentence within 24 weeks starting from May 19.

Through their lawyers Webb, Low and Barry last Wednesday, members of the co-operative led by their chairman Tedious Mguni wrote a letter to Matabeleland regional mining commissioner Florence Lindiwe Thusi urging her to re-instate their rights to ownership of the 14 claims.

"The fact that a criminal court has convicted our former associate of fraudulently transferring the mining claims of our client, we would seek your assistance in having the same claims transferred back to our client and having the transaction between Emmanuel Chirwa and Simon Bowman and Sheillah Mpofu voided," reads the letter.

Thusi acknowledged the matter yesterday.
"Yes they came to my office sometime back but I have been turning away those papers. This is a government office and we cannot be transferring papers without approval," she told Chronicle.

"You can contact their lawyers, Webb, Low and Barry."