The family held shares in the supermarket chain before it
was pushed out in January last year.
Through their lawyer Zibusiso Ncube, Mphoko and his son
filed summons at the Bulawayo High Court seeking an order declaring their
entitlement to payment of the true value of the 51% shares they held before
being booted out.
The Mphokos also claimed interest at the rate of 5% per
annum from January 9, 2019, when they were unlawfully divested of their
shareholding, to date of full payment.
In their declaration of the claim, the Mphokos submitted
that at all material time, they were the majority shareholders of Nanavac
Investments, holding an aggregate of 51% shares.
“First applicant (Siqokoqela) held 25,5% shares and second
applicant (Phelekezela) held 25,5% shares in first defendant (Nanavac
Investments), while the second defendant (Choppies Enterprises) held the
remaining 49% of the first defendant (Nanavac Investments)’ shares,” reads the
declaration.
“In about 2018, a dispute arose between first applicant and
second defendant resulting in the second and third defendants instituting legal
proceedings against first plaintiff and his wife and the first defendant at the
High Court. The second defendant instituted malicious and false criminal
complaints to the police, resulting in the institution of magistrates’ court
proceedings against the first plaintiff and his wife.”
They said the proceedings resulted in their arrest and
detention and on January 9 in order to secure freedom, the Mphokos signed a
deed of settlement with Choppies Enterprises in terms of which they disposed of
their shareholding in Nanavac Investments to Choppies Enterprises.
“The deed of settlement between the parties provided that
the two plaintiffs were to be paid US$2,9 million by second defendant for the
acquisition of plaintiffs’ full rights and title to the first defendant’s
shareholding,” they said.
“The payment of first applicant’s salary which was due from
first defendant had been unlawfully stopped and threats of foreclosure on a
mortgage bond in which first applicant had acquired funds from a local bank
which the plaintiff could only service if he was not in detention and was
receiving his salary from first defendant, the second plaintiff made him sign
the deed of settlement in fear of the continued persecution of his son and his
daughter in law by second defendant.”
The Mphokos said the unlawful deed of settlement
understated value of the shareholding they owned in that US$2,9 million offered
for the shares constituted about 7% as opposed to 51% of the value of the
shares in Nanavac Investments, which was given as US$44 million at the Botswana
Stock Exchange.
“The second defendant paid the sum of US$2,9 million in
local currency, where shareholding was purportedly being acquired by a foreign
entity and in terms of the impugned deed of settlement, the value of the shares
was in US dollars. The plaintiffs are entitled to 51% shares in first defendant
in terms of the shareholders agreement of July 24 2013.”
The defendants are yet to respond to the summons. Newsday
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