THE wrangle over the ownership of Echo Farm between war veteran, Adwell Chiminya and Masimba Msipa’s Crowhill Properties, has spilled into the Supreme Court.
by Everson Mushava
Chiminya, through his lawyer, Farai Nyamayaro, appealed to the Supreme Court against a High Court interdict issued in favour of Mt Pleasant MP, Jason Passade, who claims he is now the owner of the property after buying it from Crowhill Properties.
Passade reportedly spent most of Tuesday soliciting police help to evict Chiminya. But the Zanu PF MP was forced back to the drawing board after learning that his interdict, obtained as a default judgment after Chiminya was served with court papers when the court was already sitting, had been challenged.
According to Chiminya’s appeal, filed last Friday, High Court judge, Justice Edith Kuda Mushore “erred and misdirected herself in granting the application on paper, when dispute of facts was patently clear.”
He said Chiminya was on the piece of land on the basis that he holds an offer letter and there was no evidence that it had been withdrawn. But Passade’s lawyers, Samudombe and Partners wrote to Nyamayaro demanding that he withdraws the appeal, arguing it violated section 43 of the High Court Act, because it was made without the leave of a judge.
“Clearly, no registrar would issue such an appeal without the leave of the judge,” Samundombe’s letter to Nyamayaro, dated July 13, read.
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“By copy of this letter, we advise you to either withdraw appeal by close of business today, July 13, 2016, or we take up the matter with the registrar of the Supreme Court to firstly deal with the registrar, who issued the appeal and we will also notify the law society, as this is a clear act of misconduct and promptly take up the matter with the police for fraudulently defeating the course of justice.”
However, Section 43(2)(d)(2) of the High Court Act Chapter 7:06 provides for the right to appeal against a High Court judgment “where an interdict is granted or refused” without the leave of a Supreme Court judge.
The land wrangle has been dragging on for a long time, leading to repeated arrests of Chiminya reportedly at Passade’s instigation, who claims ownership of the property.
But Chiminya is arguing that he successfully applied for change of land use, while accusing Crowhill Properties of fraudulently acquiring title to the land.
Chiminya was first interdicted by the magistrates’ court, but he had been arguing that the subject of his interdict was Lot 1 of Crowhill and not remainder of Echo, the land in dispute. The war veteran said Passade and Msipa have failed to prove how they bought State land and turned it into private property.
