Court nullifies US$200k mining equipment sale

The High Court has set aside the sale in execution of mining equipment belonging to chrome mining company Lonosphere Investments, ruling that assets worth about US$200,000 were unlawfully disposed of for just US$13,000 by the Messenger of Court.

The dispute arose after Lonosphere defaulted on a debt of US$12,240 owed to a creditor for chrome concentrate supplied. Following a magistrates' court judgment and a subsequent deed of settlement, the Messenger of Court attached the company's mining equipment, including a front loader, excavator, generator and processing plant, to recover the debt.

Although Lonosphere's lawyers later informed the Messenger of Court that the debt had been paid, the sale proceeded on October 24, 2025, and the equipment was sold to several buyers for US$13,017.

Lonosphere challenged the sale, arguing that it had been improperly executed despite payment having been made and instructions to halt proceedings. The High Court agreed, finding that the Messenger of Court had acted unlawfully by continuing with the sale after being notified that the judgment debt had been settled.

Delivering judgment, Justice Regis Dembure ruled that there was no longer any legal basis for the execution once payment had been made and communicated. He said the Messenger of Court was required to act on lawful instructions and could not proceed independently when those instructions had been withdrawn.

The court further found that the sale price was unreasonably low and that no proper valuation of the assets had been conducted at the time of attachment, as required by procedure.

Justice Dembure described the conduct of the Messenger of Court as reckless and an abuse of court process, ordering that the sale be declared null and void and that the seized equipment be returned to Lonosphere's possession. He also indicated that punitive costs were justified given the seriousness of the irregularities.