of diamonds mined at the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields, despite a
Supreme Court order barring the stones from being sold.
The title holder of the Chiadzwa claim, African Consolidated Resources
(ACR), has lodged legal papers against Mpofu for violating the Supreme Court
order. The order was handed down earlier this year as part of the ownership
wrangle between ACR and the government approved firms mining the site.
The government owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) has
joined forces with Mbada Mining and Canadile Mining, who were licensed to
mine the Chiadzwa site after it was seized in 2006 from the UK based ACR.
Since the first High Court ruling in their favour in 2009, ACR has been
embroiled in a legal battle over ownership of the site.
The ZMDC and Mines Minister Mpofu then appealed this High Court decision and
the Supreme Court subsequently ordered all mining operations be suspended
until the issue was finalised. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku ruled that
despite the ZMDC being in physical control of the claims, "they must cease
all mining activities and it is so ordered."
"Allowing applicants (ZMDC) to continue mining, pending appeal, has the
potential of causing irreparable damage to the respondents (ACR) should the
appeal fail," the Chief Justice ruled.
But mining has continued regardless, and last month a multi million dollar
auction of the stones was launched in Harare. ACR now wants Mpofu to face
High Court action for allowing the sales. ACR also wants the High Court to
throw out the appeal made by Mpofu, over Chiadzwa's legal ownership.
"As a government minister he has a legal and moral duty to see to it that
orders of (the High Court) and of the Supreme Court are obeyed and see to it
that the integrity of (the courts) is protected, by not openly and publicly
acting in defiance of a court order," reads part of the heads of arguments
filed by ACR's legal team.
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