Business Reporter
The recent decision by the Constitutional Court to reject Fairclot Investment’s bid to appeal a Supreme Court decision regarding a debt settlement of over $4.9 million in local currency has cleared hurdles in front of WestProp Holdings Pomona City development.
Court papers seen by our publication iFairclot had sought to challenge the September 2023 Supreme Court judgment that allowed West Property Holdings Limited Zimbabwe to proceed with its Pomona City development without any legal issues, following a long-standing financial dispute between Augur Investments and Fairclot Investments over payment for a dual carriageway leading to Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare.
Fairclot argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in a non-constitutional matter had violated its fundamental rights as guaranteed by Zimbabwe’s Constitution.
The Con Court deemed Fairclot’s request “untenable and strange,” likely due to the fact that direct access to the Constitutional Court is typically only permitted in exceptional circumstances, as outlined in section 167 of the Constitution.
In general, cases reach the Constitutional Court through various channels, including appeals from lower courts. Decisions from the High Court or Supreme Court can be appealed to the Constitutional Court.
However, in exceptional circumstances, individuals or companies can bring matters directly to the Constitutional Court.
Last week , a bench of three the Constitutional Court Judges Justice Paddington Garwe, Rita Makarau and Anne-Mary Gowora turned away the Fairclot bid for direct access to the court to quash a Supreme Court decision.
The judges agreed that the decision made by the Supreme Court was on a non-constitutional issue.
In a judgment delivered IN September last year, a three-judge panel of Justices Chinembiri Bhunu, George Chiweshe and Hlekani Mwayera unanimously agreed that the debt was executable in local currency, in terms of the country’s financial laws.
This means Augur has fully discharged its liability when it paid Fairclot in local currency, putting to rest the protracted financial dispute pitting the two companies.
As a result,WestProp will now proceed with its upmarket housing development at Stand 654 Pomona Township with no barriers ahead.
