HARARE business mogul Phillip Chiyangwa’s car hiring firm, Glory Car Hire and Travel Tours, has taken a local businessman, engineer Elijah Chifamba, to court seeking to compel him to pay $18 972 for vehicle hire.
CHARLES LAITON
Chifamba, however, has since contested the claim arguing that he paid all the amounts due to Chiyangwa’s car hire firm and further claimed the firm owed him R27 000, an amount that would offset any outstanding debts.
Both parties appeared in chambers before High Court judge Justice Hlekani Mwayera where they agreed to a postponement of the matter to February 27 to allow time for an out-of-court settlement.
According to court papers under case number HC7947/12, sometime in 2010, Chiyangwa’s firm hired out two vehicles to Chifamba on three different occasions after entering into a written agreement.
It is alleged initially Chifamba hired a Mercedes-Benz on November 8 2010 and the conditions were that he would pay $300 per day and cover a distance of about 100km per day as well.
Chifamba is said to have returned the vehicle after covering in excess of 605km for which he then was liable to pay $4 714, but only paid $1 849.
A month later Chifamba is alleged to have hired a Land Rover Defender at a cost of $100 per day and returned the vehicle with a 720km excess mileage.
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On March 20 last year, Chifamba again hired the Land Rover Defender at a cost of $120 per day and accrued a $14 869 debt which he allegedly failed to pay prompting Chiyangwa’s firm to seek the court’s intervention.
In his defence Chifamba denied owing Chiyangwa’s firm any money arguing he paid for all the services rendered to him.
Chifamba argued that the Land Rover vehicle was given to him as deposit for fees on the Kasese project which he carried out for Chiyangwa.
He said he used the vehicle for purposes of doing work on the project.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Justice Mwayera allowed them time to go and discuss the matter with a view to reach an out-of-court settlement.
