Deported mine chief given March 9 to argue his case

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 08:02:52 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

THE Lusaka High Court has set March 9, 2018 as the date for hearing in a case in which Eli Nefussy, the co-CEO of Gemcanton Investments Holdings, an emerald mine in Lufwanyama, is challenging his deportation to Namibia.

On November 28, 2017, a combined team of police and immigration officers captured and deported Mr. Nefussy under unclear reasons following a trading dispute with another shareholder in the company.

Dickson Jere, the lawyer representing Mr. Nefussy from Mvunga Associates, then wrote to Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo, asking him to rescind that decision saying there was nothing wrong his client had done save for the fact that he had raised the alarm after discovering that his business associate had spent US$21 million without any explanation of what the money was used for.

“We are informed by our client that he was abducted on November 28, 2017 by a combined team of security officers who included immigration officers. He was kept under incommunicado and not allowed to contact his lawyers or take his medicines for his heart condition. It was only in the afternoon when he was told that he will be deported and taken to the Ethiopian Airlines flight at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport in Ndola.

“We wish to bring to your attention the fact that our client had sharp differences with one of the directors at the mine, a Mr Abdoulaye Ndiaye commonly known as ‘Gounasse’ over the management of the mine. Our client, who was out of the country for a while and only returned to the mine on November 23, 2017, immediately discovered unexplained expenditure of over $21 million,” read the letter in part.

Mr Jere demanded that his client be brought back.

“We therefore write to ask your office to immediately reverse the deportation of our client and allow him to come back and continue working as CEO of the mine.”