The High Court of Zimbabwe has set aside a default judgment of nearly US$68,000 granted against a local miner after finding that his failure to attend a virtual case management conference was not wilful but caused by a technical glitch.
In a judgment delivered on 3 February 2026, Justice Joseph Mafusire of the Commercial Division ruled in favour of David Jaji Hwehwe in his application for rescission of judgment in a dispute with Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Limited.
The default judgment, granted on 17 July 2025 under case number HCHC 351-25, had ordered Hwehwe to pay US$67,700 in alleged outstanding mining royalties, together with interest at five percent per annum and costs of suit. His plea had been struck off after neither he nor his legal practitioner appeared at a virtual pre-trial conference.
Hwehwe told the court that he and his lawyer had travelled from Gweru to Harare for the hearing to ensure stable internet connectivity. Upon arrival at the Commercial Court premises, they were reportedly advised to log in from the General Division’s internet hub. Despite attempting to join the session well before the scheduled 11:30am start time, they were not admitted into the virtual platform.
Court papers show they contacted a judicial clerk, who allegedly indicated they would be admitted once proceedings commenced. That did not happen, and a default judgment was subsequently entered. Execution proceedings were later stayed by consent pending determination of the rescission application.
In his ruling, Justice Mafusire found that the applicant’s absence was not deliberate.
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“He did not drive 350km only to have a default judgment entered against him, especially given that he had timeously entered an appearance to defend and filed a plea,” the judge said, attributing the default to a systems error or mistake by court officials.
The underlying dispute relates to mining royalties arising from tribute agreements dating back to 2016. Falcon Gold claims Hwehwe accumulated arrears after initially agreeing to pay royalties at five percent of turnover, later amended to a fixed US$5,000 per month from January 2023.
Hwehwe disputes the claim, arguing that earlier debts had been set off against water charges allegedly owed to him by the company. He further contends that a January 2023 arrangement allowed him to pay a reduced monthly amount of US$2,500 until his mining operations improved.
The court examined correspondence dated 11 January 2023 in which Falcon Gold acknowledged it would accept part-payments of US$2,500 per month, with the full US$5,000 to resume once production improved.
Although expressing scepticism about what appeared to be an open-ended arrangement allowing one party to determine when it could resume full payments, Justice Mafusire held that the letter raised a triable issue requiring ventilation at trial.
“I consider that the applicant has raised a triable issue. It is worth interrogating at trial,” he said.
The court ordered that the default judgment be set aside, with costs to be in the cause. The matter will now proceed to trial for determination on the merits.
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