A Harare lawyer has successfully appealed a High Court default order granted to a Chinese investor, Huang Li Qiang, which had ordered him to repay US$170,000 debt on behalf of his client after a property deal went wrong.
Lawyer Emmanuel Mukwewa approached the Supreme Court after the High Court dismissed his application for the rescission of a default judgment granted in favour of the Chinese investor.
The Chinese investor had obtained the default judgment against Mukwewa and his client, Richard Paswa, who had acknowledged the debt.However, Mukwewa, who only acted as the conveyancer, was not served with the court papers, leading to the default judgment.
In his appeal application before a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, Justice Samuel Kudya and Justice Joseph Mafusire, Mukwewa sought leave to lead evidence in the High Court on the acknowledgement of debt executed by Paswa.
Mukwewa told the court that on July 31, 2024, Qiang obtained default judgment against him and Paswa in the High Court.
He said he was jointly sued with Paswa and was ordered to pay US$170,000.
Mukwewa said that when he became aware of the existence of the default judgment, he filed an application for rescission, but High Court judge Justice Siyabonga Musithu dismissed his application.
On September 2 last year, Paswa executed an acknowledgement of debt and accepted liability for the US$170,000 paid to him for the purchase of immovable property by Qiang.
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Mukwewa said that by the time the acknowledgement of debt was executed, the matter had already been argued before the High Court.
In terms of the acknowledgement of debt, Paswa undertook to pay the debt by making an initial deposit of US$85,000 on or before September 8, 2025, in cash, with the balance of US$85,000 to be paid in monthly instalments of US$12,143 from September 30, 2025, up to March 31, 2026.
Mukwewa said the effect of this acknowledgement of debt was that it absolved him of any liability to Qiang, as he was not a beneficiary of the transaction between the parties.
He said he was only involved in his professional capacity, having been engaged to draft the relevant agreement between the parties.
However, the Supreme Court bench, after hearing the appeal, allowed the appeal with costs.
The Supreme Court also set aside the High Court judgment and granted the rescission Mukwewa had sought.
Mukwewa was ordered to file his appearance to defend at the High Court.
He was also granted leave to adduce further evidence attached to the applicant's founding affidavit in the appeal.
Justice Musithu had ruled that Mukwewa failed to show “good and sufficient cause” for setting aside the judgment, finding that his explanation for ignoring summons and his alleged defence were both without merit.
The dispute arose in September 2023 when Huang entered into what was termed an “Agreement of Consultancy of Immovable Property” drafted by Mukwewa.
Under the deal, Paswa was to sell Huang a 20,000-square-metre stand in Harare’s Coca-Cola area. Huang paid US$170,000 of the purchase price, but the land was never delivered.
In July 2024, after neither Paswa nor Mukwewa filed a defence to Huang’s lawsuit, the court granted default judgment, ordering the pair to refund Huang with interest and costs. The investor had accused Mukwewa of colluding with Paswa to defraud him, alleging the stand was non-existent.
Mukwewa argued that he only learned of the judgment months later and claimed he was not properly served, as the summons had been left at the gate of his former office premises.
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court decision, ruling that the acknowledgement of debt by Paswa exonerated Mukwewa.
