Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Marian Chombo’s US$100 000 debt to Mtetwa and Nyambirai Legal Practitioners — acknowledged on September 2, 2014 — must be paid in local currency under the rules set out in Statutory Instrument 33 of 2019, the High Court has ruled.
This follows a Supreme Court decision remitting the matter to the High Court to determine how the law affects the debt and the currency in which it should be settled.
Justice Mambara emphasised that the court’s role was confined strictly to the issue referred back by the Supreme Court.
He stated: “This court must give effect to the directions of the appellate court and determine the remitted issue only.”
The court found that the US$100 000 debt existed and remained unpaid as of February 22, 2019 — the date SI 33/19 came into effect. Lawyers for Mtetwa and Nyambirai had argued that the debt should remain payable in United States dollars, pointing to a US$2 360 payment made by Minister Chombo in 2024 as evidence that the debt continued to be acknowledged in foreign currency.
However, the court disagreed, ruling that SI 33/19 automatically converts qualifying liabilities into local currency as at February 22, 2019.
Justice Mambara explained: “The application of SI 33/19 to a qualifying liability is by operation of law. Once the statutory conditions are met, the deeming follows.”
The court also found no evidence that the 2014 debt had been novated or replaced by a new agreement that would allow it to remain denominated in US dollars.
Justice Mambara noted that later developments — including the 2024 payment — did not alter the fact that the debt fell under the scope of SI 33/19.
He said: “The question remains whether the liability existed and was valued in US dollars immediately before February 22, 2019.”
As a result, the court ruled that the US$100 000 debt must be treated as ZW$100 000, converted at the statutory rate provided for in SI 33/19.
The US$2 360 payment made in 2024 will be treated as a credit against the debt, converted into Zimbabwe dollars in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.
The court ordered Minister Chombo, who was represented by Mr Jonasi Dondo, to pay the debt in local currency together with interest from the date the summons was issued until the debt is fully settled.
She was also ordered to pay the legal costs of the case.
