The two matters Spencer’s Creek (Private) Ltd v ZIMNAT General Insurance HC 1801/22 (“HC 1801/22”) and Africa Albida Tourism (Private) Limited and Victoria Falls Safari Lodge Hotel (Private) Limited v ZIMNAT General Insurance HC 1800/22 (“HC 1800/22”) were placed before me one after the other for a further pre-trial conference in terms of r 49(5) of the High Court Rules, 2021. In both matters the plaintiffs claim payment allegedly due to the plaintiff in terms of the insurance contract between the plaintiffs and the defendant. The difference only relates to the amount claimed in that in HC 1801/22 the amount... More
: This judgment deals with a preliminary objection that was raised by defendant’s counsel in his written submissions which were filed under cover of a letter dated 8 October 2024 when the trial in this matter was scheduled to commence on 10 October 2024. The preliminary objection by the defendant is basically to say that the plaintiff’s summons are a nullity or fatally defective and incurably bad at law for want of compliance with r 12(5)(d) of the High Court Rules, 2021. In particular, the summons are being impugned for their failure to give a concise statement of the nature,... More
This is an appeal against the decision of the National Employment Council for Welfare and Educational Institutions Appeals Committee ( the Appeals Committee)which was handed down on the 7th of December 2023. In the present appeal the appellant has raised 3 grounds of appeal. The matter was heard before me on 3 March 2024. More
This is an appeal against the decision of the Magistrates Court sitting at Chinhoyi. The trial court had upheld the now respondents’ relief for summary judgment against appellants. On the 8th of July 2024, after a long and protracted hearing we dismissed the summary judgment and allowed the appeal through an extempore ruling. A request for judgment was made on the same day before closure of business prompting us to request for the transcript of the record of proceedings as it bore the reasons for our judgment. These are the reasons. More
This matter was placed before me on automatic review in terms of section 57 (1) of the Magistrates Court Act [Chapter 7:10]. The accused appeared before the Magistrates Court sitting in Filabusi. He was charged and convicted with one count of contravening s 3(1) as read with s 3(3) of the Gold Trade Act [Chapter 21:03] i.e., possession of gold without a licence. It being alleged that on 9 January 2023 and at Britain Gold mine, Filabusi, the accused possessed 0.229g of gold without a licence as required by the Act. More
The accused was arraigned before the Magistrates Court facing two counts of theft as defined in s 131(2)(e) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act [Chapter 9:23] (the Criminal Law Code). The allegations against him were that on the night of 29 April 2023 at Mashwede Complex, in Warren Park, Harare, he broke into two different shops and stole various property. He pleaded not guilty to both counts, but was convicted of the first count and acquitted of the second count after a contested trial. More
This matter was brought on review at the instance of the scrutinizing regional magistrate. The offender was arraigned before the magistrates’ court sitting at Zvishavane charged with the crime of contravening infanticide as defined in s 48(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23]. It being alleged that on 9 January 2024 the offender gave birth to a baby girl and intentionally dug a pit and buried the baby alive which conduct caused the death of the baby at time when the balance of her mind was disturbed as a result of giving birth. The offender pleaded... More
