BY SILAS NKALA
THE Development Initiative (TDI), an international company undertaking humanitarian explosive ordinance disposal (EOD), allegedly dumped its demining employee, who is a former soldier after he got injured while on duty.
The company is also accused of reneging to pay the former soldier, Zenzeni Sibanda’s medical bills and benefits.
Sibanda, a former Zimbabwe National Army member and a specialist in explosive disposal, who currently stays in Beitbridge, told Southern Eye yesterday that he worked in different war-torn countries, including the Darfur region in Sudan and Mali, among other countries, while he was employed by TDI.
He said he worked for TDI since 2010 and had no problem with them until he got injured in 2016 while on duty in Mali after he was hit by a motorbike and broke his leg.
TDI was tasked to work in five States of the Darfur region between July 2014 and June 2015 alongside capacity building EOD teams.
Sibanda said he was contracted by TDI, a Zimbabwean-based demining firm. In an affidavit he wrote to authorities and courts demanding compensation, the ex-soldier indicated that he had used all legal means to get compensation to no avail.
Sibanda was covered by a United Kingdom-based insurance company. When he got injured, he was transferred from Mali to Kenya and then to Zimbabwe, where he was treated through assistance by the National Social Security Authority (Nssa).
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“I have consulted the High Court of Zimbabwe with my issue, but nothing came out. I visited Nssa to pressure the company, but nothing has materialised,” he wrote.
“I went to some human rights organisation in Harare, they advised me to look for lawyers which I did, but it did not work. The insurance company based in London is fully aware of the issue. They issued me with compensations claim number 206271060 during my stay in Kenya while admitted in a hospital.
“The insurance stated that the metal plates with screws are permanently fixed. I then made enquiries concerning the compensation and was told the compensation was paid through TDI, with the new claim number 20629306, but it did not get into my hands up to now. TDI is the one that contracted me to Mali, When I got injured, it terminated my contract without notice; no payments for five months and then I went to its offices in Harare. They chased me away,” he added.
When the matter was taken to court last year, the High Court ruled that Sibanda was entitled to compensation, but was instead supposed to have approached his employers, who the court ruled were in Bermuda instead of TDI.
However, Sibanda insisted that his employers were TDI.
TDI’s assistant operations officer, Chezelle Umali, yesterday declined to comment.
“This case is with our lawyers. Unfortunately, I am just an employee. I cannot comment on that issue,” she said.
