Moxico Caught ‘Offside’ Again, Directors Face Jail for Contempt
Moxico Chief Executive Officer Mr Alan Davies is facing jail in Zambia for failing to obey an ex parte order of interim injunction restraining him and others from interfering with operations of the Euro Africa Kalengwa Mine Limited.
This company has had a long standing dispute over shareholding and while in the middle of this, other shareholders illegally sold shares to Moxico.
Earlier on March 16, 2017, the Lusaka High Court 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 Chinua Edgar Mulenga as first and second applicants respectively took the matter of shareholding to court.
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 respondents were further warned of penal repercussions of their failure to obey the order, which included liability to committal proceedings.
However, Moxico illegally bought shares in the mine while the dispute between shareholders was still in court.
This is not the first time that Mr Davies has found himself entangled in controversy over mining dealings because in November, 2016, he was forced to step down as Rio Tinto’s head after engaging in government fraud in West Africa.
Apart from this, Moxico is fighting with KCM over the Mimbula Fitula mine in Chingola.
Both groups of shareholders in Euro Africa Kalengwa actually 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.
The Ministry directed Moxico to vacate the mine or face criminal trespass and prosecution for holding on to a tenement that does not belong to them.
Meanwhile, the second plaintiff in the matter, Mr Mulenga, has issued an ultimatum to lawyers of the sixth and seventh respondents (EuroAfrica Kalengwa Mines Limited and Moxico Resources) to withdraw an application for interpretation and/or variation of the the order of injunction.
The law firms involved are Muya and Company and CL Mundia and Company.
“This is of extreme as this is an attempt at inviting the Supreme Court to grant you large scale mining prospecting licence which is the subject matter in the dispute currently before the Commercial Court in addition to matter regarding the ownership and shareholding of Euro Africa Mining Limited,” Mulenga stated in a letter dated July 19, 2019. “…If the said application is not withdrawn within seven days, we shall accordingly notify the Supreme Court using the rules of Court and report your law firm to the Law Association of Zambia for this gross impropriety.”