Judgment No. SC 21/2018
Civil Appeal No. SC 89/16
respondent was the principal shareholder whereas, the late Joseph Chemayi Mtize was one of
the executive Directors.
Sometime in 2005 there was need to inject more capital in the company. He then
advised the executive directors to top up their nominal shareholding in a board meeting to avoid
their shareholding being diluted to zero by the envisaged increase in capital. The late
Chemayi Mtize who had no money offered to sell the disputed property to the first respondent
to raise funds to purchase more shares. He is not privy to the contract of sale but he knows that
the late Mtize travelled to Gweru with a representative of the respondent company to view the
property. Following the trip to Gweru the late Mtize later bought more shares from Millenial
Insurance Company.
Edmore Samson is the first respondent’s Managing Director and a shareholder in
Millenial Insurance Company. He confirmed Mataranyika’s evidence that in 2015 there arose
need to raise Millenial Insurance Company’s share capital. It then became necessary for
shareholders to increase their shareholding by purchasing more shares in the company. He
corroborated Mataranyika’s evidence to the effect that the late Mtize who had no money
offered to sell his house to the first respondent.
It was his testimony that the first respondent then bought house Number 5 Cooper
Road Southdowns being the disputed property. The property was bought for $Z300 000 000
(three hundred million Zimbabwean Dollars) payable in instalments from May 2005 to
August 2005. The agreement of sale was reduced to writing and signed by both parties. The
written agreement of sale has since been misplaced and the first respondent’ officials are still
looking for it.
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