A senior Zanu PF member from Matabeleland South Province, Patrick Hove, has been barred by the High Court from setting foot anywhere within a 30-metre radius of a mining claim he wanted to seize from a businessman at Fort Rixon in Insiza.
Hove, a Zanu PF central committee member wanted to evict the owner of the claim, Blessing Ndiweni.
He now risks being charged with contempt of court after High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese ruled against him on Tuesday.
This was after Ndiweni of Eptide Trading (Pvt) (Ltd) who owns Car Rhom mining claim situated at Mount Royal Farm approached the court claiming Hove had defied an earlier order by Justice Nicholas Ndou interdicting him from disturbing his mining activities.
Ndiweni is represented by Mlamuli Ncube of Cheda & Partners. In his restraining order, Justice Makonese ordered that Hove and his workers should keep peace with Ndiweni and leave him to conduct his business uninterrupted.
“The respondent (Hove) and all those acting on his instructions keep peace towards applicant and its employees pending the finalization of the case number 3532/11.
“The respondent and all those acting under his instructions are interdicted from coming within 30 metres of a mining claim known as Car Rhom N20 situate at Mount Royal Farm pending the finalisation of the case 3532/11. There be no order as to costs,” reads part of the order.
The order followed the confirmation of a provisional order granted by Justice Ndou on November 30 last year ordering Hove and his workers to return the mining claim to Ndiweni, which they had forcibly taken away from him.
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Ndiweni had to approach the court after he allegedly failed to get help from police in Fort Rixon where the officer in charge, he alleged was Hove’s friend.
According to State papers, he also failed to get help from Criminal Investigations Department’s minerals’ section in Bulawayo.
