Bulawayo businessman sues SA investor over 108 cattle 'swindle'

A BULAWAYO businessman has taken a South Africa-based investor Mr Louis Le Roux to court for allegedly fraudulently selling his 108 cattle worth over US$42 000 without his knowledge.

Mr Le Roux who is also the director of CapeZim, a consortium of Cape Town and farmers in Matebeleland South, entered into a cattle ranching partnership with Mr Raymond Roth in 2015.

Mr Roth, who owns several properties in Bulawayo and Beitbridge, is accusing Mr Le Roux of breaching their partnership agreement when he sold 108 cattle without his knowledge.

Mr Roth, through his lawyers, Macharaga Law Chambers, filed a summons at the Bulawayo High Court citing Mr Le Roux as a defendant.

According to court papers, sometime in 2015, Mr Roth and Mr Le Roux entered into an oral cattle ranching partnership.

In terms of their agreement, Mr Roth would take his cattle to Mr Le Roux's farm in Chipizi in West Nicholson.

Mr Le Roux would provide grazing land and stock feed for the cattle including also catering for other expenses related to the upkeep of the animals.

The parties would then share the calves equally while the cattle supplied by Mr Roth would solely remain his.

Mr Roth said pursuant to the agreement he delivered 287 cattle to Mr Le Roux's farm.

"In breach of the agreement and around September 2020, the defendant failed to provide stock feed for the cattle resulting in me supplying the feed worth US$7 734 and the defendant promised to reimburse the money, but failed to do so," he said.

Mr Roth said as of September, Mr Le Roux had 178 cattle in his custody comprising 79 cows, four bulls, 42 heifers, 24 steers, and 28 calves.

"In breach of the agreement, the defendant sold my 108 cattle without my knowledge and consent sometime in November 2020. The defendant only accounted for 70 cattle that he drove to Hawkeyei Farm and left them under the custody of Deon Grundling on February 14, 2021," he said.

Mr Roth said despite Mr Le Roux acknowledging that he sold his cattle, he has refused, failed, and neglected to account for the plaintiff's money.

"I suffered severe loss of cattle progeny from November 2020 to date as follows: 20 calves in 2021, 30 calves in 2022, and 45 calves in 2023. In terms of the agreement, the parties would equally share the progeny, and as such, the plaintiff suffered a loss of 47 calves valued at US$14 100," he said.

"Defendant would be unjustly enriched if he is allowed to retain the proceeds of the sale of my cattle, the value of the stock feed that I advanced to him, and the value of the progeny that I would have realised from November 2020 to date.'

Mr Roth wants a court order compelling Mr Le Roux to pay him US$42 768 being the value of the 108 cattle he sold, US$14  100, which is the value of 47 calves, and US$7  734 for the stock feed delivered to Mr Le Roux including interest and legal costs.