High Court rules against Malaysian investors in land case
By Alex Bell
26 March 2010
The High Court has ruled against investors from Malaysia in a dispute over an invaded property, in a move that will further sour diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Malaysian authorities have already expressed anger over the forced takeover of the property, a banana plantation in eastern Manicaland, which is supposed to be protected under a Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (BIPPA). The property, Fangundu Farm (which is owned by the Malaysian and Dutch farming entity, Matanuska) was invaded over the festive season by Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania, former army general Edzai Chimonyo, who insists that he was awarded the property in 2006 under the land reform programme.
High Court judge Justice Yunus Omerjee dismissed an application filed by Matanuska, seeking to bar Chimonyo from appealing against an earlier ruling ordering him to vacate the property. That ruling was handed down in January by Justice Tedious Karwi, who ordered Chimonyo to vacate Fangundu Farm saying his occupation of the property was illegal. Another judge then ordered Chimonyo to apply for Justice Karwi’s ruling to be overturned. But Matanuska argued Chimonyo failed to make this application within the stipulated timeframe.
However, Justice Omerjee this week ruled against Matanuska, on the grounds that Chimonyo’s application for the ruling to be overturned was ‘pending’.”The relief sought by the present applicants (Matanuska) is misplaced, given the presence of an application for rescission, which is pending,” said Justice Omerjee in his judgment.
Justice Omerjee said Matanuska can appeal against his ruling within seven days but in the interim, Chimonyo can remain at Fangundu Farm, where he is reportedly harvesting and selling bananas estimated to be worth US$40 000 a week.
An official from Kuala Lumpur’s embassy in Harare, Mohamad Nizan Mohamad, told journalists earlier this month that Vice President John Nkomo had been approached on the matter. He said Nkomo promised to take the matter to Robert Mugabe, a friend of former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Nkomo also agreed to meet with Chimonyo to resolve the dispute, which was followed by Chimonyo surrendering two other properties in Fangundu Farm’s vicinity. He said he ‘mistook’ the two properties to be part of Fangundu Farm. But what appeared to be the start of a civil agreement turned antagonistic when Matanuska was taken before the Magistrates Courts in Mutare last Wednesday. The company was accused of contravening the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act for failing to vacate Fangundu Farm once it was gazetted for resettlement. That trial has been set for April 8.