Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
THE High Court has struck off the roll an urgent chamber application filed by a coalition of mining syndicates, who had sought to secure an interdict against the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and other respondents.
Their bid sought to halt impending evictions from Mazowe Mine, but the court’s decision has now swept their hopes off the roll, leaving their claim in legal limbo.
Justice Rodgers Manyangadze ruled that the application was incurably defective due to the citation of a non-existent entity, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, instead of the minister.
“The application is rendered null and void ab initio if the respondent lacks legal persona,” the judge said.
The applicants, a group of mining syndicates operating in Lease 35 Jumbo, Mazowe, sought to stop alleged illegal evictions, destruction of mining equipment, and closure of their mining pits by the respondents.
The syndicates argued they were lawfully occupying the mining locations and had previously been granted spoliatory relief by the court in February 2024.
However, Mazowe Mining Company raised six preliminary objections, including the improper citation of the Ministry and the applicants’ failure to approach the court with clean hands.
Justice Manyangadze upheld the objection regarding the citation of a non-existent entity, referring to case law that underscores the necessity of suing a legal or natural person.
“From the above case authorities, it is clear that the citation of a non-existent entity… deals a fatal blow to an action or application,” the judge stated.
The court found that the applicants’ contention that the citation of a non-existent entity was immaterial was without merit.
“The applicants cannot opt, as they contend, to sue a non-existent entity. For their application to be valid, the entity sued must be clothed with legal persona,” Justice Manyangadze said.
The matter was struck off the roll, and the applicants were ordered to bear the respondents’ costs.
