Euro Africa Mining to commence committal proceedings against Moxico Resources directors for disobeying court order
By Staff Reporter
THE Lusaka High Court has granted Euro Africa Mining Limited and Chinua Edgar Mulenga an ex parte order for leave to apply for committal to prison proceedings against directors of Moxico Resources Zambia Limited for disobeying a court order that restrained them from managing and controlling the affairs of the former’s company.
The High Court on March 16, 2017 granted an ex parte order of interim injunction against Euro Africa Kalengwa Mines Limited, Mulondwe Muzungu, Nephson Kafwebu, Elijah Munyompe and the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) after Euro Africa Mining Limited and Mulenga as first and second applicants respectively took the matter of shareholding to court.
By the same order, the respondents were restrained from interfering with the applicants’ right to participate in the ownership, management and control of the first respondent company (Euro Africa Kalengwa Mines) until further order of the court.
The court also warned of penal repercussions of the respondents if they disobeyed the order, which included liability to committal proceedings for contempt of court.
But Moxico illegally bought shares in the mine while the dispute between shareholders was still in court.
The old directors of the mine challenged this change in shareholding in court where an order was given that Moxico and its directors should not interfere in the running of the company.
With the fresh order against Euro Africa Kalengwa Mines Limited, Muzungu, Kafwebu, Munyompe, PACRA, EuroAfrica Kalengwa Mines Limited and Moxico Resources as first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh respondents respectively and Africa Consolidated Resources Limited as an interested party, High Court judge William Mweemba has ordered the committal of Moxico directors to prison for refusing to comply with the order of injunction handed down on March 16, 2017 and holding themselves out as owners of the large scale mining prospecting licence.
They are also being penalized for holding themselves out as shareholders of Euro Africa Kalengwa Mines Limited by advertising jobs in the company contrary to the order of the court.
Currently, both groups of shareholders do not have any right to the prospecting licence over the Kalengwa tenement.
The prospecting licence belongs to KPZ International who have lodged a complaint to the Ministry of Mines against Moxico for interference in their operations in the mine.
And the Ministry has since directed Moxico to vacate the mine or face criminal trespass and prosecution for holding on to a tenement that does not belong to them.
This is not the first time that Moxico’s chief executive officer Alan Davies is involved in controversy as he was in November, 2016 forced to resign as Rio Tinto’s head over a government fraud case in North West Africa.
Moxico is facing another legal battle with KCM over the Mimbula Fitula tenement in Chingola.
