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George Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
The long running feud between Murowa Diamonds and the Sese community in Chivi has spilled into the Supreme Court, with the gem miner applying for condonation and extension of time to file an appeal against a ruling made by the Administrative Court in October this year.
The Administrative Court ordered Murowa to decamp from the precincts of Danhamombe High School where the gem miner had set a temporary base for over three years, disrupting learning activities, which prompted the local community through the school development committee to take the matter to the Administrative Court.
Murowa eventually decamped from the school where a construction project to turn the institution into a boarding school is already in full swing.
After being miffed by the Administrative Court’s decision, Murowa has now applied for condonation and extension of time to file its appeal against the decision to boot it out from Sese.
According to a founding affidavit accompanying the miner’s application written by Murowa’s company secretary Mr Andrew Chiurayi, the Administrative Court erred in arriving at the decision to kick them from Danhamombe High.
He argued in the affidavit that the Registrar of the Supreme Court erroneously refused to accept Murowa’s notice to appeal against the Administrative Court ruling saying it was out of time, yet the application had been done with the 21 days stipulated under the Administrative Court Act.
The condonation and extension of time application would allow Murowa to file its appeal if granted.
Mr Chiurayi argued that Murowa’s prospects of winning in its appeal against the Administrative Court ruling were very high.
He noted that the company’s dispute with Danhamombe High School development committee should have been referred to the Administrative Court by the mining commissioner instead of being directly taken to that court.
Mr Chiurayi also argued that Murowa had written consent from a former headmaster of Danhamombe High to camp there, hence they were there legally.
The miner also argues that the Administrative Court ruling did not specify the exact coordinates of the area from which it was supposed to decamp.
Furthermore, Murowa is arguing that the ruling of the Administrative Court was erroneous as it insinuated the miner was doing exploration, yet it had already been granted a mining licence to extract gems in the area.
Danhamombe High School Development Committee was cited as the first respondent, with Mines and Mining Development minister as second respondent.
Villagers in Sese were involved in a long running battle with Murowa over the latter’s exploration and subsequent camping at a local school.
They accused Murowa of arrogance and damaging infrastructure such as roads without effecting any meaningful development in their ancestral land.
Their case was strengthened recently after President Mnangagwa warned that mining companies should not displace people from their ancestral land to pave way for their mining activities.
Online Reporter