News / National
Mugabe debt saga in new twist
07 Oct 2018 at 08:54hrs | Views
Former President Robert Mugabe's family business, Gushungo Holdings, which was recently slapped with a $174 183 default judgement in favour of a potato seed company, has successfully thwarted efforts to attach its property after a successful High Court appeal.
Gushungo Holdings was on July 2, 2018 slapped with a default judgement after failing to defend the litigation instituted by Seed Potato Co-op (Pvt) Ltd in May this year. The company then applied for permission to attach Mugabe's property.
But through Gushungo Holdings' representative Farai Jemwa, Mugabe's company submitted that it never received the summons demanding the claimed amount and only read about the issue in a local paper.
Jemwa said it later turned out that the court papers had been served on a person not employed by the family's business.
On September 26, 2018, High Court judge Justice Benjamin Chikowero confirmed the provisional order granted by the court on July 17.
According to the court papers, the default judgement against Gushungo Holdings was granted by High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa.
In its earlier claim, the seed company said during the period between July and September 2015, it supplied Gushungo Holdings with 12 761 pockets of potato seed worth $382 830 of which Mugabe's firm made part payment, leaving a balance of $174 193.
Meanwhile, Gushungo Holdings recently petitioned the court claiming $712 530 compensation from Seed Potato Co-op, accusing the company of selling to it substandard seeds contrary to the parties' agreement.
In its declaration, Gushungo Holdings said sometime in July 2015, it entered into an oral agreement with Seed Potato Co-op whereby the latter allegedly agreed to supply quality potato seeds imported from South Africa, but it later realised that it had been sold substandard seeds that failed to produce the expected harvest.
The matter is pending.
Gushungo Holdings was on July 2, 2018 slapped with a default judgement after failing to defend the litigation instituted by Seed Potato Co-op (Pvt) Ltd in May this year. The company then applied for permission to attach Mugabe's property.
But through Gushungo Holdings' representative Farai Jemwa, Mugabe's company submitted that it never received the summons demanding the claimed amount and only read about the issue in a local paper.
Jemwa said it later turned out that the court papers had been served on a person not employed by the family's business.
On September 26, 2018, High Court judge Justice Benjamin Chikowero confirmed the provisional order granted by the court on July 17.
In its earlier claim, the seed company said during the period between July and September 2015, it supplied Gushungo Holdings with 12 761 pockets of potato seed worth $382 830 of which Mugabe's firm made part payment, leaving a balance of $174 193.
Meanwhile, Gushungo Holdings recently petitioned the court claiming $712 530 compensation from Seed Potato Co-op, accusing the company of selling to it substandard seeds contrary to the parties' agreement.
In its declaration, Gushungo Holdings said sometime in July 2015, it entered into an oral agreement with Seed Potato Co-op whereby the latter allegedly agreed to supply quality potato seeds imported from South Africa, but it later realised that it had been sold substandard seeds that failed to produce the expected harvest.
The matter is pending.
Source - the standard
