HARARE tycoon Farai Matsika has lost a critical Constitutional Court (ConCourt) application for leave to appeal to the highest court on the land a Supreme Court judgement in favour of his bitter rival, cousin and business mogul Moses Chingwena and his group of companies.
Matsika and Chingwena have been bitterly fighting over ownership of Croco Motors and subsidiaries for a long time, including how they were organised, controlled and run.
Chingwena runs Croco Motors and many other companies, while Matsika now controls Faramatsi Motors and Doves Holdings.
Matsika claimed he owned 30% of the conglomerate, but Chingwena said that was false.
The two cousins who grew up together built the vast empire reportedly worth about US$100 million together before their bitter fallout.
Matsika said he worked hard to build the group and could not walk out with nothing after he had dedicated most of his life to that project.
He argued that there was an agreement that he owned 30% of the companies, but now his cousin changed his mind and removed him with nothing.
Chingwena opposed Matsika’s original court application, saying it was founded on material falsehoods; the shareholders’ agreement relied on was fraudulent and he did not have locus standi in judicio to mount the proceedings in question.
The courts ruled in Chingwena’s favour, but Matsika has been fighting relentlessly, until now.
The High Court ruled, among other things, Matsika was not a company shareholder and therefore, lacked locus standi to bring the application before the court.
It also found the application was bad at law and that it did not meet the specific requirements of section 95 as read with section 196 of the Companies’ Act.
It ultimately dismissed the case with costs. After that, Matsika went to the Supreme Court where after some procedural hurdles and their rectification, he lost the appeal amid damaging court observations on his case.
He then asked for a review of the Supreme Court decision, arguing in was done by a single judge.
The court declined jurisdiction on that case, saying Matsika’s request for a review of the Supreme Court judgement was basically a disguised appeal.
Matsika subsequently launched a last-stand ConCourt application for leave to appeal to the highest court.
The ConCourt heard the matter and finally ruled: “On the facts of this case, I find that the applicants have failed to establish that they enjoy good prospects of success on appeal.
“Accordingly, the application for leave to appeal cannot succeed. In the result, the court makes the following order: The application for leave to appeal be and is hereby dismissed with no order as to costs.”
Three judges presided over Matsika’s ConCourt application for leave to appeal: Anne-Marie Gowora, Ben Hlatshwayo and Bharat Patel.
This marked the end of the road for Matsika who feels that his cousin used him like a slave, although Chingwena thinks otherwise.
Professor Lovemore Madhuku represented Matsika and his entity, while Chingwena and his companies were represented by Advocate Thabani Mpofu.
— STAFF WRITER.
