INDEPENDENT legislator for Norton, Temba Mliswa has rushed to court with an urgent chamber application after members of Zimbabwe’s militant war veterans association booted him and others out of Karoi Country Club.
Mliswa, who chairs the club, said the organisation did this through Joseph Serima Manjengwe, Alick Chingodza, Life Magedi and Bridget Chingodza recently.
He urged the court to hear the case urgently because they were forced to stop their operations abruptly after the war veterans took control of the club.
“I am the applicant in this matter and I have authority to depose to this affidavit on my own behalf and on behalf of Karoi Country club in my capacity as the chairperson of the club by virtue of resolution passed by the members of the club.
“This is an urgent chamber application order against the respondents who without the consent of the applicants forcibly took over the premises of Karoi Country Club on November 29 2019,” he said.
Mliswa said he was elected chairperson of the country club in 2013.
He said sometime in 2016, some other persons who were not involved in the current matter despoiled him and the country club of the same property, but he managed to take occupation after engaging the courts.
Mliswa said since then, there has been no disturbances until November 29 2019 when he was informed by the country club’s caretaker, Munyaradzi Oshipeya that Manjengwe who claimed to be Hurungwe district chairman in company of Chongodza, Magedi and Chongodza had approached him claiming ownership of the club.
“They indicated that the war veterans’ association had been given permit by Karoi City council to use the country club for youth projects but no such authority was exhibited to any of the country club’s employees who were present.
“They proceeded to violently destroy locks to forcibly gain entrance into offices and ordered Oshieya and all other employees off the property with the threat that they should never return to the property unless they wanted to risk life and also proceeded to change the locks.
“The respondents took the law into their own hands and forcibly took over Karoi Country club without any legal authority or following due process,” Mliswa said in his founding affidavit.
He said in the circumstances, an appropriate order is for the respondents to vacate from stand No. 266 Karoi, commonly known as Karoi Country Club and be interdicted from interfering with administration of the club without a court order.
