HARARE High Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire yesterday set aside the liquidation order which the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) had obtained against Trust Bank Corporation in December last year.
BY CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
In his ruling, Justice Mafusire said the central bank’s move to seek an ex-parte (one-sided) court application was unlawful.
He also ordered the RBZ to meet the costs of the suit.
Immediately after obtaining judgment in its favour, Trust Bank Corporation, through its lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu, issued the central bank with summons in which the commercial bank is now seeking an order declaring RBZ’s contemplated act of seeking to place it under liquidation, unlawful and unconstitutional.
In the same summons, Trust Bank Corporation is also seeking an order mandating RBZ to facilitate the commercial bank’s re-capitalisation drive.
Trust Bank Corporation was placed under provisional liquidation last year where Deposit Protection Corporation chief executive officer John Chikura was appointed as the provisional liquidator, pending the granting of the final order. The appointment of the liquidator followed a court application by the RBZ for an order to place the troubled bank under liquidation after its licence was cancelled over allegations of abuse of depositors’ funds and violation of the Banking Act.
The issue of the cancelled bank’s licence is yet to be dealt with by the Administrative Court. RBZ was represented by Advocate Lewis Uriri.
