Online Reporter
Online Reporter
THE Supreme Court has given Fernicary Farm (trading as Rutendo Farm) — owned by former minister Engineer Munacho Mutezo — a reprieve after it reinstated its appeal against a High Court ruling which awarded Des Monies Farm (Pvt) Ltd US$455 000 in compensation for farm improvements.
Des Monies Farm is represented by Philemon Thambatshira Matibe.
The dispute arose after Matibe moved from Botswana in 2019 to take up farming operations at Rutendo Farm on an eight-year lease.
However, after he was evicted from the farm for alleged non-payment of rentals and vandalism of equipment, he claimed to have invested over US$750 000 in improvements on the farm.
He later sued, claiming claiming compensation for reported improvements, which included the repair of external and internal roads, erection of fences to mark the farm boundaries, refurbishment of the main house, water reticulation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure.
But it is claimed that the lease agreement stipulated that all improvements required Mutezo’s prior approval and an independent valuation.
According to Rutendo Farm, neither condition was met.
On the other hand, Des Monies Farm claimed a worker at the farm had approved all the improvements that it undertook.
It is alleged that no documentation such as invoices, receipts, quotations, bank statements, requisitions or valuation reports has been produced to prove this claim.
Rutendo Farm argues that at the time Matibe moved in, the farm was already well-equipped with tractors, ploughs, irrigation systems, barns and well-maintained roads.
Rutendo Farm further argues that a joint inspection by both parties and their lawyers revealed there was no evidence of improvements, other than normal operations such as ripping and liming, farm supervision and council road upgrades, which it insists does not constitute legitimate farm improvements.
Des Monies Farm also claimed amounts such as US$150 000 for bush clearance, which Rutendo Farm argued were operational costs, not farm improvements.
Rutendo Farm further questioned the logic of investing the alleged US$750 000 on a farm with a six-year lease, as the amount would have been enough to buy two or three farms.
The High Court, however, awarded Des Monies Farm US$455 000 in damages, forcing Rutendo Farm to appeal against the High Court judgment.
The appeal could not be filed on time, and the case was deemed to be abandoned.
However, Supreme Court judge Justice George Chiweshe ruled that although Rutendo Farm had failed to meet procedural timelines, its case carried reasonable prospects of success, allowing the appeal to proceed.
“Although the delay in complying with the infringed rule is not inordinate, the explanation for such delay is not plausible. However, I am of the view that the intended appeal has reasonable prospects of success. It is for that reason that the application must succeed,” Justice Chiweshe said.
“In the result it is ordered as follows: the application for reinstatement of appeal be and is hereby granted.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling means the appeal will now be heard on its merits, setting the stage for a judgment in the dispute.
But the reprieve comes after machinery and livestock belonging to Rutendo Farm were auctioned in August this year to settle Des Monies Farm’s compensation after the High Court ruling and the subsequent delay in filling the Supreme Court appeal.
