FORMER Information minister Webster Shamu’s business, Webcon Petroleum Service Station, has been taken to the Civil Court by MDC-T deputy chairperson Morgen Komichi, who is demanding $5 300 in damages after his motor vehicle allegedly developed mechanical defects after using contaminated diesel from the fuel station.
BY CHARLES LAITON
Through his lawyers, Mbizo Muchadehama & Makoni, Komichi filed the lawsuit sometime in May this year suing Shamu’s business alongside its employee, Tafadzwa Magonziwa, and the matter appeared this week for trial before Harare magistrate Gamuchirai Siwardi.
The filling station in question is Shamu’s family business situated at the 17km peg along the Harare-Bulawayo highway, trading as Puma Energy.
In his particulars of claim, Komichi, who is being represented by Hopewell Chitima, said the incident leading to the damages to his Ford Ranger T6 occurred on September 17 last year when he proceeded to Webcon Petroleum Service Station to fill his motor vehicle.
“On the September 17, 2015, plaintiff (Komichi) went to first defendant’s (Webcon Petroleum) service station to fill his car with diesel fuel…plaintiff paid $77 for 66,4 litres (and) second defendant (Magonziwa) misrepresented to plaintiff that what he was putting in plaintiff’s motor vehicle was pure/real/proper diesel when in fact it was diesel mixed with water,” he said.
He added: “Second defendant negligently poured diesel mixed with water into plaintiff’s motor vehicle. At all times second defendant was acting in the course and with the scope of his employment with 1st defendant (Shamu) and thus 1st defendant is vicariously liable. As a result of the defendant’s actions, plaintiff’s vehicle, upon being driven, stalled.”
The MDC-T chair further said his vehicle was then towed to a garage where it was repaired and incurred a total of $5 318.
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In their pleas to the claim, both Shamu’s business and Magonziwa, through their lawyers from Venturas and Samukange Legal Practitioners, challenged Komichi to prove he was the owner of the vehicle in question.
They also told the court the onus was on Komichi to show that he obtained the contaminated fuel from their garage and dismissed claims they ever sold contaminated fuel at any given time.
“Defendants will state that they stored diesel which was up to standard in terms of the specifications and is simply an agent. Defendants are not the owners of the diesel (but) only receive commission,” they said.
They added: “…Consequently plaintiff has instituted proceedings against the wrong party. He prays that the claim be dismissed with costs on an attorney and client scale.”
The matter is still pending.
