The divestment and deprivation of the control of SMM Holdings Private Limited (SMM) from its UK registered parent company, SMM Holdings Limited (SMMH), and its directors on 6 September, 2004, pursuant to an order issued by the then Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Patrick Chinamasa, was a “political project” initiated and prosecuted by one of the President’s advisors.

Professor Mupasiri, Public Policy Director of the Friends of Shabanie and Mashava Mines Trust (FOSMM), said: “It is astonishing that Manikai, a practicing attorney whose duty to serve is to the constitution would be involved in this naked attack of the rule of law that he is ordinarily paid to promote and protect.

The fact that Manikai links this criminal onslaught on SMM using public power is chilling and an inditement of the integrity of President Mnangagwa as a custodian of the rule of law.

I am still trying to digest the true implications of Manikai’s admission that at the core of the demise of SMM was a fallout that he attributes to President’s quest to succeed President Mugabe.

In terms of s90(1) of the Constitution that reads as follows: “The President must uphold, defend, obey and respect this Constitution as the supreme law of the nation and must ensure that this Constitution and all the other laws are faithfully observed,” it follows that President Mnangagwa to the extent that he knowingly and intentionally recognized and enforced this draconian law, his conduct is subject to the provisions of s167(2)(d) of the Constitution that provides as follows: “determine whether Parliament or the President has failed to fulfil a constitutional obligation,” that gives jurisdiction to the Constitutional Court to determine whether his endorsement of the law that offends not only the Constitution of Zimbabwe but international law constitutes a failure to fulfil his obligations.

It is striking that Manikai who took an oath to uphold and defend the constitution has been the driving force in persecuting Mawere on allegations of externalization when he was fixed with the knowledge that this crime was incompetent against Mawere, a resident of South Africa, and as such was part his criminal attack on the rule of law.

To the extent that the true nature of President Mnangagwa’s relationship with Manikai has been disclosed by Manikai, it would not take a rocket scientist that President Mnangagwa’s failure to reign in Manikai for his criminal conduct in stealing a company using public power, there can be no doubt that he has failed to comply with the provisions of s90(2)(d) of the Constitution that provides as follows: “ensure protection of the fundamental human rights and freedoms and the rule of law,” and such the Constitutional Court has jurisdiction to determine the role of President Mnangagwa in giving life to this repugnant act of state and implementing it during his Presidency.”

Manikai’s admissions confirm that he is a key player in the ascendancy of President Mnangagwa whose genesis can be traced to the Tsholotsho Declaration of 2004 whose intent was to make President Mnangagwa the successor to the late Vice President Muzenda and evidently Manikai has valuable information that should assist in the pursuit of the truth.

It cannot be disputed that the reconstruction of SMM was premeditated and no law existed to permit the government to divest the company’s shareholders of the right to appoint and remove directors.

The power and authority of the shareholders of SMM and related companies was stolen from these parties by an act of state and an Administrator, Mr. Gwaradzimba, another ally of President Mnangagwa was appointed by Chinamasa for the sole purpose of ensuring that the rights and freedoms of shareholders were alienated without any due process of the law.

Below is what Chinamasa said in an affidavit that he deposed to in relation to an ex-parte application that Manikai prosecuted to confirm Chinamasa’s order by a court of law:

It is significant that Chinamasa was not even ashamed to admit to what should be an independent and impartial court that: “at the time he issued the reconstruction order there was no provision in the regulations he purportedly wrote (but were authored by Manikai without the consent of the then Acting Attorney General, Justice Patel, who subsequently got promoted to be a judge presumably as a reward for acquiescing to this blatant attack on the rule of law.

It is also worth highlighting that Chinamasa on paragraph 5.7 of his affidavit, Chinamasa states the importation of the judiciary to the SMM heist only occurred after the event and through an amendment of the regulations used to divest SMM’s shareholders of the control of the company.

Chinamasa gave himself exclusive authority to approve the SMM reconstruction and delegated the power to the AG fixed with the knowledge that there was no intention to involve the AG in this criminal conspiracy but to outsource the AG’s duties to Manikai’s firm, DMH.

Below is Chinamasa’s signature in relation to the affidavit in support of an application for the court to play a subordinate and subsidiary role of confirming an order issued extrajudicially.

It is worth highlighting that in this unusual and unprecedented application, Chinamasa was the applicant with no respondent on the papers. Notwithstanding, Justice Kamocha, accepted this frontal attack on the rule of law by actually tolerating the attack on the doctrine of separation of powers, a fundamental tenet of the rule of law.

Manikai in prosecuting this matter knew that this application offended the constitution in that the Court was being asked in terms of s8 of the Reconstruction Act to confirm a Ministerial order whose effect was to divest citizens of rights and freedoms that are entrenched in the constitution.

It is chilling that a judge, who is supposed to be a guardian of the rule of law, was being asked by Chinamasa as set out below, using a lawyer whose conduct is subject to the constitution, to confirm an order that Chinamasa authored.

What is disturbing that a lawyer like Manikai would be party to prosecuting a cause in which the affected parties i.e. shareholders and directors of SMM were not served with the papers let alone being cited as Respondents when the audi principle, a fundamental principle of the rule of law, is operative.

If there was any doubt of the collusion between the judiciary and the architects of this criminal theft of the rights and freedoms using the agency of the government, the screenshot below tells all:

It is clear from the above that Chinamasa, who at all material times, was the Minister of Justice and not the AG, appointed DMH to represent in and the address for the service of papers to him was diverted to the address of DMH meaning that the AG was deliberately and knowingly excluded from any paper trail in relation to the SMM matter.

Attention ZEP Holders:

• As per the latest decision by cabinet all ZEP holders have now been granted a 12-month grace period meaning that all ZEP permits will only expire on 31 December 2022.
• During the 12-month grace period holders of ZEP permits should apply for the mainstream visas which they qualify for and need to ensure that their applications comply with the provisions and requirements of the immigration act and regulations. There is no need to apply for a waiver as change of condition is permitted during the 12-month grace period given.
• At the expiry of the 12-month grace period, those who are not successful will have to leave South Africa or be deported.
• All updated information will be published as received.
• To apply for a mainstream visa please CLICK HERE

Brian Kazungu, 03/02/2021

The economic environment is looking bleak especially for many businesses because of the Covid-19 induced difficult operating environment.

The latest notable casualty is South Africa’s luxury bus company Greyhound which announced that it will be shutting down its operations and that for Citiliner after having operated in South Africa for 37 years.

In its announcement, Greyhound did not give the reasons for its complete shutdown but it highlighted that people who were scheduled to travel after the 14^th of February will have to get refunded.

Many business across the world have been negatively affected by the lockdowns which are meant to contain the spread of the Corona virus.

Recently, Ster-Kinekor Theatres in South Africa were forced to take the voluntary business rescue option because of the Covid-19 pandemic in order to rehabilitate the once profitable business whose cash generation has been negatively affected by lockdown measures meant to contain the spread of the virus.