Matemadanda drags farming partner to court

VICTOR Matemadanda, Zimbabwe ambassador to Mozambique, has taken his farming partner, Rumbidzai Mujuru after she barred him from clandestinely selling their maize produce to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

Matemadanda is jointly suing Mujuru together with his son, Itai, also a partner in the project.

According to court papers, the trio entered into a partnership agreement in 2020.

The terms were that they would grow maize together and share the profits when the yield was sold to GMB.

 The High court has been told that Matemadanda contributed 150 hectares of land at his Garowa farm in Hurungwe as well as accommodation, water and other inputs whilst Mujuru would provide employee wages and salaries.

Matemadanda said Mujuru breached the agreement and  filed an application at the High Court seeking an order barring him and his son from interfering in operations earlier this year.

Mujuru also claimed that Itai and his brothers had committed violence against the employees and had demanded that they leave the farm.

She had also claimed that Itai had forbidden her from selling the produce at GMB and that he had dumped the maize that had been loaded onto a truck for selling onto the ground.

The matter brought by Mujuru was heard by  High Court judge Justice Esther  Muremba who barred the Matemadanda's from interfering in the farming process.

In the present application, the Matemadandas accuse Mujuru of fraudulently obtaining the interdict.

"I and my brothers never committed any acts of violence or threatened any employees with action or unspecified action. We never asked anyone to vacate the farm. How could we do so to our own employees who have assisted us to farm the maize in question. The allegations are not true,"said Itai in his founding affidavit.

"On the 18th of July…we discovered that the respondent (Mujuru) had attributed certain dispositions to Ishmael Chipfunde which dispositions he had never made. I am not aware if this act of fraud was done to Priscilla Govere and Tinashe Bure too.

Itai said Chipfunde has denied deposing an affidavit which was purposefully attached to the urgent chamber application.

"He denies that the signature on that affidavit is his. He also denies the false allegations that were attributed to me and my brothers"

In this regard, father and son are seeking an order for a stay of execution on Justice Muremba's ruling.