BY CHARLES LAITON
LISTED conglomerate Meikles Limited has approached the High Court seeking an order compelling a local firm, Wide Free Investments (Pvt) Ltd T/A Core Solutions, to reimburse it over $1,7 million it received as payment for facilitating the recovery of a debt owed by government.
According to court papers, on December 27, 2013, Meikles Limited and Wide Free Investments entered into a memorandum of engagement in terms of which Wide Free Investments offered to provide services to Meikles by facilitating the repayment of a debt owed by the government to the diversified group.
“The plaintiff (Meikles Limited) proceeded to make payments for the purported services, which payments were made under the bona fide and reasonable, but mistaken belief that the defendant (Wide Free Investments) had performed in terms of the agreement,” Meikles Limited said in its declaration.
“The High Court under case number: HC9915/18 found the first defendant to be in breach of the agreement and all subsequent agreements stemming from or relating to the collection of the Meikles-Government of Zimbabwe Debt. As a consequence, an order for the judicial cancellation of the agreement was granted by the honourable Justice (Happius) Zhou before the High Court of Zimbabwe on January 30, 2019,” the conglomerate said.
Meikles further said, consequently, as a result of the High Court order, the agreements signed between the parties became legally unenforceable, with the result that Wide Free Investments was no longer entitled to the money paid to or recovered by it from Meikles.
“The total amount erroneously recovered by the defendant from the plaintiff is in the sum of $1 743 265, 95 with respect to which amount the defendant was unjustly enriched to the impoverishment of the plaintiff. Despite demand, defendant has failed and/or refused and/or neglected to pay the plaintiff the said sum,” Meikles said.
The matter is pending and Wide Free Investments is yet to enter an appearance to defend.
