Chinese cement firm director jailed in Zimbabwe

High Court judge Justice Philda Muzofa has found executives of Wih-Zim Construction Material Investments in contempt of court for defying a previous order to stop construction of a cement manufacturing plant in Magunje, Hurungwe.

In a ruling delivered recently at the High Court in Chinhoyi, Justice Muzofa ordered the immediate suspension of all works at the site, ruling that the company and its director acted in blatant defiance of a court order issued on February 4, 2025.

"The application for contempt of court be and is hereby granted," Justice Muzofa ruled. "The first and second respondents (Labenmon Investments and director Daniel Mlalazi) are hereby found to be in contempt of this court's provisional order issued under Case Number HCCC15/25."

She further directed that "the respondents are hereby ordered to immediately stop all works at the Wih-Zim Construction Material Investments Cement Manufacturing Plant in Magunje, Hurungwe until the matter under HCCC15/25 is finalised."

As part of the ruling, the first respondent was fined US$3,000 payable within one month, while Mlalazi was sentenced to 30 days' imprisonment, wholly suspended on condition of compliance with the court order.

The case stems from a legal challenge brought by villagers from Kapere and Chasara under Ward 11 in Hurungwe, represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) attorneys Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Kelvin Kabaya. The villagers argued that the project had encroached on their grazing and farming land.

According to the community, Chinese firm Labenmon Investments - which is linked to Wih-Zim - began fencing off the land in July 2024 without any consultation.

"The villagers later learnt that Labenmon Investments was going to establish a cement manufacturing plant on the pegged area, and they were prohibited from accessing their grazing fields and farming land," ZLHR said in a statement.

The lawyers accused the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) of acting unlawfully by issuing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate to the company without properly assessing its report - a violation of sections 100(1) and 100(2) of the Environmental Management Act.

"The Director-General of EMA violated the principles of natural justice as espoused in section 136 by failing to consult the appellants who are affected by the proposed cement manufacturing plant and giving them an opportunity to be heard," the lawyers said.

They added that EMA failed to hold the required consultative meeting between the developers and affected villagers, as mandated by law.

The project has drawn widespread criticism in the community, with about 23 families reportedly displaced or cut off from communal grazing areas. Villagers have maintained that the development threatens their livelihoods and violates their right to land use and environmental protection.