Delma Lupepe not facing civil arrest, says Lawyers

PROMINENT businessman Mr Delma Lupepe is not facing arrest as insinuated by some media reports, his lawyers have said.

In a statement through his personal legal representatives Messrs. Mashayamombe & Partners Legal Practitioners, Mr Lupepe expressed concern over a recent rash of lopsided reports coming from the private media insinuating that he will soon be arrested over a $280 000 Ecobank debt. The lawyers said the debt in question emanated from a loan that was awarded to Merlin Limited, a private company in which Mr Lupepe is a major shareholder and director.

"We have been instructed by our client to give a definitive position on those reports about our client's alleged upcoming civil arrest. In simple words, our client is not facing arrest and will not be arrested as widely reported," reads the statement.

The lawyers said during its operation Merlin required re-equipping and re-tooling for out of date spinning and weaving equipment. They said Mr Lupepe, "being a conscientious" stakeholder, put up his personal family residence as security for a loan from Ecobank so that those funds would be used for helping revitalise Merlin.

"Unfortunately, due to no fault on his part, the spares, equipment and machinery required were never acquired due to amongst other reasons; a debt overhang on its operations and the forex exchange shortages, which the country experienced," reads the statement.

The lawyers said Merlin Limited defaulted on repayments for this loan, which triggered legal action being taken against the company and Mr Lupepe as its guarantor. During the course of those legal proceedings, Merlin went into involuntary judicial management upon application by its employees whose salaries had fallen into serious arrears, they said.

"This resulted in a legal situation where Merlin could no longer be subjected to litigation pending finalisation of the judicial management process in the form of a business rescue or liquidation," said the lawyers.

"Ecobank continued with its legal action against our client despite the fact that it had not exhausted its legal options to claim against Merlin. Mr Lupepe has vigorously defended this matter for the past five years and unfortunately lost the case in the High Court resulting in the entire debt for the loan repayments accruing to him."

Mashayamombe & Partners Legal Practitioners said Ecobank, through its attorneys of record, then attached Mr Lupepe's residential home and that "after failing to get a satisfactory bid at a public auction", undertook the irregular action of acquiring the property in their name by way of set off without informing Mr Lupepe.

"This acquisition is currently under challenge before the courts but Ecobank then continued to seek and obtain an ejectment order through the High Court of Zimbabwe, which order, Mr Lupepe has appealed against.

"In lieu of his failure to repay the loan advanced to Merlin, Ecobank have now issued a Summons for Civil Imprisonment widely reported in some national publications," reads the statement. The lawyers said Mr Lupepe has since obtained a financial guarantee from the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (Zamco) permitting him and his fellow shareholders to negotiate a settlement of all outstanding debts due and owing by Merlin Limited.