Ex-VP Joice Mujuru stews in US$226k debt

Zim Now Writer

Former Vice President Joice Mujuru’s company, Ruzirun Investments, is failing to pay back a US$226 000 debt to a local couple, Sabrina and Tony Sarpo, since 2015 and efforts to escape paying the debt have hit a brick wall at the Supreme Court.

The couple, through its lawyers Tapson Dzvetero, said that parties entered into a consent order denominated in US dollars, which at the time was legal tender and the payment was supposed to be at the prevailing interbank rate.

In their appeal, the couple submitted that the lower court get it wrong at law and totally misdirected itself in finding that the deed of settlement entered into by the parties on May 20, 2019 and consent order granted on May 20, 2018 fell within the ambit of the provisions of Statutory Instrument (SI) 33 of 2019, notwithstanding the deed of settlement and consent order having been entered and granted respectively after the effective date of SI 33 of 2019.

Justice Chinembiri Bhunu, Felistus Chatukuta and Hlekani Mwayera who are Judges of appea,l agreed saying the argument by Mujuru that the deed of settlement and the consent order were merely based on the agreement of sale executed in 2014 and lacked merit.

“The court a quo, therefore, erred when it held that the order by consent did not create any new liabilities, but merely pronounced on the existing liabilities of the respondents.

“The respondents were, therefore, required to discharge their indebtedness by converting the United States dollar judgment to RTGS dollars at the prevailing interbank rate.

“Payment made by the respondents at the one-to-one rate, therefore, did not discharge their indebtedness to the appellants. It merely constituted part payment, with the balance remaining due and payable. We, therefore, find that this appeal has merit and ought to succeed,” they ruled.

The couple had sold farming machinery to Mujuru in terms of an agreement of sale concluded on July 25, 2014 and her company then defaulted in making payments, prompting the court action.

On May 20, 2019 the parties agreed to settle the matter and entered into a deed of settlement where an order by consent denominated in United States dollars was then issued for the payment of US$226 000.

It is said that Mujuru made the first payment on July 5, 2019 through a bank transfer where she paid RTGS$76 000 but the appellants wrote a letter, through their lawyers arguing that the judgment debt had to be paid at the interbank rate.

Mujuru objected, arguing that the obligation to pay the amount had arisen before the promulgation of SI 33 of 2019 hence she would pay with the 1: 1 rate.

On October 16, 2019, Mujuru and her company made a payment of $140 000 directly into the Sheriff’s account but, the couple again wrote to her stating that there was still an outstanding balance of RTGS$7 423 413.30.

But Mujuru argued that payment of $470 282.50 covered the judgment debt in full.

Mujuru then approached the High Court seeking a stay of execution of the judgment in HC 2954/18.

She sought as a final order a declarator that the total amount paid had extinguished her indebtedness and demanded the release of the property attached by the Sheriff.

The application was duly granted, prompting the couple to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ordered Mujuru to pay the debt following a successful appeal against a High Court judgment which confirmed a provisional order that she had satisfied the judgment debt by making payments in RTGS dollars.