The High Court of Zimbabwe has dismissed Econet Zimbabwe’s mobile money platform Ecocash’s application which sought to interdict the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe from suspending its mobile money agents.
DESMOND CHINGARANDE
In their ruling the High Court said they cannot interdict a lawful act and the case was dismissed with costs.
In their court papers Ecocash submitted that the RBZ issued a directive to them that they must suspend and freeze EcoCash accounts of agents whose transactional value exceeds Z$100,000 per month.
“The respondent placed a condition that those agents who wanted to continue with the business of transacting must reapply and application will be subject to confirmation by the respondent. The provisions of legal sections that the RBZ placed reliance on do not give respondent power to suspend agent lines from participating in the agent system. No crime has been committed by agent line holders, and considered together with all relevant facts the directive is illegal and irrational,” EcoCash lawyer Ntokozo Siziba said.
EcoCash says the RBZ directive exempted banks, bureaux de change, listed companies, international organisations and government agencies, but has affected large companies including Transverve, Zuva, Total, N Richards, Metropeech and Engen. EcoCash says the disruption has extended to its entire customer base.
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