Choppies eviction: Victims of shady landlord

Philemon Jambaya

A sale agreement between Cembeee Private Limited and Africa Flea Market Private Limited which did not consider a running lease culminated in the sensational eviction of Choppies Supermarket in Gweru yesterday.

Repprts on social media say Choppies was evicted for non-payment of rentals but this publication has been informed that the retail chain was caught out when its landlord sold the building and the new owners refused to honour the long running lease which still had more than 2 years to go..

Choppie's lease was set to expire in August 2025 and along the way, the landlord Cembee Private Limited, sold the building.

To evict Choppies from the buildings, Cembee allegedly worked with new the buyer, Africa Flea Market Limited to get a court order evicting Cembee and thus Choppies,.

https://zimbabwenow.co.zw/articles/5486/drama-as-choppies-gweru-branch-is-evicted-from-premises

A court order by Justice Zhou under case number HC 3639/23 ordered the eviction of Cembee Private Limited and the order was served to Cembee without the knowledge of Choppies Supermarket, who were the tenants.

The order which compelled Cembee to vacate the building in 48 hours saw Choppies being forced to remove its products from the shelves and out of the building.

“Choppies was never aware of the court case and was only evicted following an eviction order by Justice Zhou. The court papers were being served to Cembee Private Limited who were the owners of the building.

“Choppies was a just a tenant and a victim of an unfaithful landlord,” said a source close to the developments.

Sources say Choppies will be filing an urgent application at the High Court to challenge the eviction.

Efforts to get a comment from Choppies were fruitless