Matsika's bid for Croco Motors ownership flops

Staff Reporter

Farai Matsika, a prominent Harare businessman, has lost his application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court against a Supreme Court judgment in favour of his cousin and business rival, Moses Chingwena.

The long-standing legal battle between the two cousins has finally come to an end, with the ConCourt dismissing Matsika's application with no order as to costs. The court found that Matsika had failed to establish good prospects of success on appeal.

Matsika and Chingwena have been fighting over ownership of Croco Motors and subsidiaries, with Matsika claiming a 30% stake in the company. However, Chingwena has consistently denied this claim, stating that Matsika has no legal basis for his assertion.

Matsika's legal team was led by Professor Lovemore Madhuku, while Chingwena was represented by Advocate Thabani Mpofu. The ConCourt judges who presided over the matter were Anne-Marie Gowora, Ben Hlatshwayo, and Bharat Patel.

The legal dispute has been ongoing for several years, with Matsika alleging that he was unfairly removed from the company despite his significant contributions to its growth. Chingwena, on the other hand, has maintained that Matsika's claims are baseless and that he has no locus standi in the matter.

The High Court and Supreme Court have both ruled in favor of Chingwena, finding that Matsika lacks the legal standing to bring the application and that his claims are unfounded. Despite this, Matsika has continued to fight the decision, alleging that the judgments were flawed and that he was denied justice.

In his ConCourt application, Matsika argued that the Supreme Court judgment was erroneous and that he had been denied a fair hearing. However, the ConCourt has now put an end to the matter, finding that Matsika's application lacks merit.

"On the facts of this case, I find that the applicants have failed to establish that they enjoy good prospects of success on appeal," the ConCourt judgment reads. "Accordingly, the application for leave to appeal cannot succeed. In the result, the court makes the following order: The application for leave to appeal be and is hereby dismissed with no order as to costs."

The ConCourt's decision marks the end of the road for Matsika.