News / National
Delma Lupepe faces imprisonment
06 Mar 2018 at 05:23hrs | Views
Prominent Bulawayo business tycoon, Delma Lupepe, has been given an ultimatum to settle a $280 000 Ecobank debt by March 21, 2018, failing which he faces a jail term.
The financial institution issued the summons for civil imprisonment, at the High Court in Harare, against Lupepe last Thursday ordering the businessman to comply or risk being caged.
"You (Lupepe) are called upon to pay the plaintiff, Ecobank Zimbabwe (Ltd) (formerly Premier Banking Corporation Limited) the sum of $280 361,67 together with further interest and costs of suit on the legal practitioner and client scale. You are required to pay this sum by virtue of a judgment obtained against you in the High Court on March 26, 2012, under which you were ordered to pay the sum of $200 000 and interest at the rate of 35% per annum from December 25, 2009 to date of payment," the bank said.
"If you fail to pay the specified sum above, you must appear before the High Court on Wednesday March 21, 2018 in Motion Court to explain why you have not paid it and to show cause why an order for your imprisonment should not be made on account of your failure to pay…..You are at liberty to approach the judgement creditor before the date of the hearing and make an offer of settlement of the sum due."
Lupepe is yet to respond to the litigation.
Sometime last year, the same bank dragged the businessman to court seeking his ejectment from its property at 4 Bunting Close, Matsheumhlope in Bulawayo over unpaid $18 000 rentals.
"The defendant (Lupepe) is in occupation of the said property. As a result of the defendant's occupation of its aforesaid property, the plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer damages as follows; holding over damages of $10 000 between the month of March and July 2016 (Calculated at the rate of $2 000 per month). $3 742, 24 being unpaid rates, water and other supplementary charges incurred by the defendant at the plaintiff's property and $4 372, 37 being unpaid electricity charges incurred by the defendant at the plaintiff's property."
The bank said as a result of Lupepe's failure to pay rent, rates and electricity for the property, it was now seeking an order to ensure the businessman was ejected from the property and ordered to pay future holding over damages at the rate of $2 000 per month from August 1, 2016 to date of his ejectment.
The financial institution issued the summons for civil imprisonment, at the High Court in Harare, against Lupepe last Thursday ordering the businessman to comply or risk being caged.
"You (Lupepe) are called upon to pay the plaintiff, Ecobank Zimbabwe (Ltd) (formerly Premier Banking Corporation Limited) the sum of $280 361,67 together with further interest and costs of suit on the legal practitioner and client scale. You are required to pay this sum by virtue of a judgment obtained against you in the High Court on March 26, 2012, under which you were ordered to pay the sum of $200 000 and interest at the rate of 35% per annum from December 25, 2009 to date of payment," the bank said.
"If you fail to pay the specified sum above, you must appear before the High Court on Wednesday March 21, 2018 in Motion Court to explain why you have not paid it and to show cause why an order for your imprisonment should not be made on account of your failure to pay…..You are at liberty to approach the judgement creditor before the date of the hearing and make an offer of settlement of the sum due."
Lupepe is yet to respond to the litigation.
Sometime last year, the same bank dragged the businessman to court seeking his ejectment from its property at 4 Bunting Close, Matsheumhlope in Bulawayo over unpaid $18 000 rentals.
"The defendant (Lupepe) is in occupation of the said property. As a result of the defendant's occupation of its aforesaid property, the plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer damages as follows; holding over damages of $10 000 between the month of March and July 2016 (Calculated at the rate of $2 000 per month). $3 742, 24 being unpaid rates, water and other supplementary charges incurred by the defendant at the plaintiff's property and $4 372, 37 being unpaid electricity charges incurred by the defendant at the plaintiff's property."
The bank said as a result of Lupepe's failure to pay rent, rates and electricity for the property, it was now seeking an order to ensure the businessman was ejected from the property and ordered to pay future holding over damages at the rate of $2 000 per month from August 1, 2016 to date of his ejectment.
Source - newsday
