MUMBWA VILLAGE HOLDS EQUIPMENT HOSTAGE

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 12:18:07 +0000

By Chintu Malambo

A RESIDENT of Mumbwa’s Katala village has asked the Lusaka High Court to keep in its custody  machinery belonging to a migrating South African company until he is paid K46, 000 owed to him.

According to a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Joel Madraya was seeking a court order to have the machinery preserved and in its custody.

He indicated that he was contracted by Conybiz PVT, a South African-owned company which was also sub-contracted by Bukomo Mine of Mumbwa to be transporting gold dust.

Mr Madraya claimed that it was agreed that he would be transporting the gold dust using his Volvo Tipper truck at a rate of K1, 400 per day. “I started working on 29th May 2017 up to the month of June 2017 and I was paid K41, 000 which money was collected by my brother, Joseph Madraya, that is after I failed to recover the said money from the mining company and assigned him to pursue the  directors to recover the said money,” Mr Madraya he said. Mr Madraya claimed that he continued working for the mining company for 33 days at the said rate of K1, 400 per day making a total of K46, 200 and only stopped working on 5 August after failing to recover his money. Mr Madraya alleged that he received information from the site manager that the directors of the mining company had come back from South Africa with the intention to relocate the company to their country of origin.

He indicated that with the help of some police officers, he went to the site where he got an industrial electronic generator and the submissive machine  which was taken to Mumbwa police station to keep as security for his money upon hearing information that the company was going to migrate to South Africa,.

“In an effort to protect my interest and recover my money, I went to the site where I requested that I be given the industrial electronic generator and the submissive machine to keep as security for money owed to me.

“With the help of some police officers, I managed to get the machinery and took them to Mumbwa police station for safe custody,” he said. Mr Madraya claimed that he had since received information from police that the directors of the said mining company where threatening to go and collect the machinery. He pleaded with the court to grant him a preservation order against the mining company until he receives money allegedly owned to him or that the court keeps in its custody the said machinery.