Former Dynamos Football Club defender Guthrie Zhokinyi is still pursuing his former paymasters seeking to recover unpaid salaries and terminal benefits.
BY CHARLES LAITON
Through his lawyers, Zvinavakobvu Law Chambers, Zhokinyi approached the High Court this week seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s decision which, in November last year, stopped him from attaching DeMbare’s property to recover his dues.
In his determination, High Court judge Justice Alphas Chitakunye granted Dynamos stay of execution on the basis that since Zhokinyi was no longer employed, he would not be in a position to compensate DeMbare should the club’s appeal against the Labour Court succeed.
In the court papers, Zhokinyi said he was employed by Dynamos from 2012 until 2014 although sometime in 2012, he faced allegations of match-fixing resulting in Zifa banning him for life from any football activities.
The ban was later lifted and he is now playing for Triangle.
“I, however, continued to offer my services to the respondent (Dynamos) in honour of the contract since it was still extant. The respondent stopped paying my salary basing on the ban placed by Zifa even though it had not terminated the contract,” he said.
“The dispute was referred for arbitration wherein an arbitral award was issued in my favour. Dissatisfied with the award, the respondent then appealed to the Labour Court where the appeal was dismissed and the award was upheld.
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“The respondent then filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court which application was not opposed. I tried to execute against the property of the respondent at Rufaro Stadium, which attempt failed as a result of the respondent’s contempt of the sheriff of this honourable court.”
Zhokinyi said it was after the attempted execution that DeMbare approached the court seeking stay of execution, which application was granted regardless of the strong opposition and position of the law which proved otherwise.
“It is out of this background that I am applying for leave to appeal against the judgment of this court to the Supreme Court,” he said. In response to the application, Dynamos, through their secretary-general Webster Chikengezha argued Zhokinyi’s application was defective for having failed to comply with the requirements of rule 262 of the rules of the High Court.
“The applicant (Zhokinyi) did not make an oral application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court immediately after the handing down of the judgment in question on November 20, 2015. He only filed same on December 14,” Chikengezha said.
Chikengezha also dismissed Zhokinyi’s claims, saying: “I verily believe that the applicant could not have possibly tendered his services when he had been banned from playing football. The simple fact is that the ban had the net effect of incapacitating the applicant from rendering the contracted services.”
The matter is pending at the court.
