G40 member's US$840,000 claim dismissed

The High Court has dismissed a legal dispute involving the Kaizen Family Trust and Rodney Dangarembizi, both of whom were counterclaiming US$432,000 and US$868,000, respectively.

Rodney Dangarembizi, who is alleged to be a member of the G40 faction, gained notoriety in 2017 for reportedly authoring a speech in which Zanu-PF youth leader Kudzai Chipanga insulted Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.

High Court Judge Justice Slyvia Chirau Mugomba rejected the case brought by the Kaizen Family, which sought US$432,000 from the Rodney Dangarembizi Family Trust. The judge ruled that it was not the court's role to rewrite business contracts between parties, ordering each party to cover its own costs.

The dispute centered on a piece of land in Rolf Valley Township, with the parties initially entering a written agreement for Kaizen to purchase the land from the Rodney Dangarembizi Family Trust for US$2.5 million. Kaizen Family failed to pay the purchase price as agreed and later entered into a new agreement in which the payment date was extended. However, Kaizen again failed to pay, leading to the cancellation of the agreement by Dangarembizi, who subsequently sold the property to a third party for US$1.2 million.

Kaizen Family demanded a refund of US$432,000 it had paid, while Dangarembizi Trust counterclaimed US$868,000 in damages for the plaintiff's breach.

Justice Mugomba stated that Kaizen Family had admitted to breaching the contract by failing to pay the purchase price and was now seeking a refund for the money paid. She agreed with the defendant that the court should not rewrite contracts and dismissed both claims, noting that any loss incurred by Dangarembizi Trust should be quantified separately. The judge emphasized that the parties should have discussed their losses before pursuing legal action, concluding that both claims had no merit and should be dismissed.