The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has received the green light from the Joburg High Court to recoup R67-million owed to it by controversial businessman and politician Mutumwa Dziva Mawere.
The presiding judge did not take kindly to Mawere’s “Stalingrad” approach in trying to avoid paying back the IDC.
In February 2019, the court found that Mawere was liable for debts incurred by his company, Aldolex. Mawere elected not to participate in the proceedings. However, a month later, he brought an application to rescind the judgment, claiming that fraud had been committed.
The IDC filed its answering affidavit in opposition to the application for rescission in April 2019. Mawere failed to reply to the IDC’s arguments.
In November 2020, the court issued a directive to Mawere to file his head of argument within 10 days. He again failed to abide by the court’s order.
However, Mawere resurfaced in February last year, calling for the recusal of the presiding officer, asking that the directive issued in November 2020 be set aside.
Fast forward to 2022 and the Joburg High Court was left stunned when Mawere and his counsel did not appear for a scheduled hearing into his recusal and rescission applications, to have been argued last week.
Judge Motsamai Makume tore into Mawere’s conduct.
“The history of this matter clearly indicates the deliberate abuse of court process by the applicant. He not only ignored court orders and directives that I issued and has instead mounted a protracted Stalingrad type of process aimed at preventing the IDC from executing a judgment in its favour.
“I am, in conclusion, persuaded that the application for rescission of judgment is frivolous and unmeritorious and falls to be dismissed with costs on a punitive scale,” the judgment reads.
Mawere, who has dual citizenship, is no stranger to controversy. He was expelled from the ANC for allegedly defrauding the National Lotteries Commission of R5-million using the party’s letterhead. He fled Zimbabwe in 2004 after the government at the time instituted a corruption probe against him and his business partners.
His mining assets have been frozen by the Zimbabwean government, which took over his mining company, African Resources Limited.
IDC spokesperson Tshepo Ramodibe confirmed the entity has initiated the process to recoup the money owed to it.
“Our decision stems from our commitment to sound corporate governance and longstanding commitment to pursuing business entities as well as individuals failing to meet or service their debt obligations,” he said.
However, Mawere said he plans to oppose that judgment.
“That judgment doesn’t have reasons on what I have done wrong,” he said.
“I am not even a director of that company. I have put my application to have the judgment reviewed. I lodged a complaint about that judge as he was biased towards me. I was not even in court when that order was made. Judges of this country are
corrupt and captured.
“Reference is made to the notice of set down of an undefined matter based on a directive issued on March 23 2021. I have taken the liberty to copy this email to legal representatives of Africa Heritage Society, whose application to intervene dated 23 March 2021 in the rescission application seems to have been ignored contemptuously by the learned judge.”
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