Mawere takes property rights case to the UK Supreme Court

By Violet Gonda
24 May 2007

Zimbabwean business mogul Mutumwa Mawere is on a warpath with the Mugabe regime. Currently in the process of fighting for his companies in South African courts, Mawere on Wednesday took more action by filing an application in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He said his companies were taken by force by the Zimbabwe government with no compensation, and by using draconian measures that were put in place through a presidential decree. The resilient businessman said the UK has the jurisdiction to adjudicate in this matter because the businesses that were nationalized in Zimbabwe belong to two English companies.

Mawere said: “This is an application in the Supreme Court of England and Wales in which I am asking the court not to recognize the government of Zimbabwe’s agents who are coming before the court (UK) with dirty hands.”

The Zimbabwe government is being represented in the UK courts by a nominee company called AMG Global Nominees. Last year the UK courts ruled in a preliminary action that AMG was a proxy for the Zimbabwean government. That case is still pending. The latest case is to do with the constitutionality of the actions of the Zimbabwean government.

Mawere’s business empire was seized by the Mugabe regime in 2004 after he was accused of externalizing foreign currency. He denies this.
We could not get a comment from the Zimbabwean authorities.

35 of his companies were affected, including his SA companies that were supplying goods and services to Zimbabwe. Mawere’s vast business empire included Zimbabwe's sole asbestos mining company Shabanie Mashaba Mines, plus Fidelity Life Insurance, ZIMRE Holdings, CFI Holdings and First Bank.