HARARE – The High Court has dismissed an application by land developer, George Katsimberis who was seeking to stop his former business partner Kenneth Raydon Sharpe from selling residential stands on a disputed piece of land.
Justice Jacob Manzunzu, sitting at the Harare High Court, ruled that Katsimberis’s application was legally defective as it had been filed out of time.
Court ruled Katsimberis should have taken action within 30 days after his first application was struck off the roll but did not do so hence the matter was deemed abandoned.
“Katsimberi had 30 days within which to rectify any such of the defects as might have disqualified his case from being heard on the merits. He did not. Instead, he appealed. But the appeal failed because he did nothing further after the dismissal. So he was deemed by law to have abandoned his case.
“I uphold the respondents point in limine (preliminary points) that this matter is issue estoppel. The position stands even if there are some respondents who did not oppose the application as alleged by the applicants. The application be and is hereby dismissed with costs,” ruled Justice Jacob Manzunzu.
Katsimberis had sued Sharpe through his company, Coolfitch Investments.
Sharpe was sued in his capacity as the trustee of the Kilimanjaro, Porcupine and Hamster trusts.
Katsimberis also cited Castlehorpe Investments, Pokugara Ecofriendly Estate, Pokugara Properties Pvt Ltd and the Registrar of Deeds as respondents.
The businessman wanted to interdict Sharpe from transferring the property that was disposed of by the High Court and Supreme Court in 2020.
The property was sold to a local couple Erasmus and Sibusisiwe Chindove by Sharpe’s Pokugara Properties.
Katsimberis and Sharpe have become regular names at the courts after their joint venture went wrong.
According to court papers, the two in 2016 entered into a joint Venture Agreement (JVA).
The dream was to develop pieces of land into housing units and apartments to rent out for profit.
Sharpe would, through a nominee company, provide land and Katsimberis would, also through a nominee company, inject money.
Regrettably, the association collapsed, making the dream a legal nightmare.
Sharpe alleges there was ill performance by his former partner who went on to put inappropriate structures on their land.
The structures were in the end demolished by Harare City Council and Sharpe wanted out.
Katsimberis has been fighting the case since 2018.
After his initial court application was struck off the roll for being defective, he appealed to the Supreme Court where his appeal was dismissed.
There were no further legal developments until July 2020.
Katsimberis issued summons against Sharpe and the action is still pending.
The businessman then filed the present application seeking an interim relief barring the transfer of the disputed property to anyone including the Chindoves.
He also wanted the respondents to pay costs of suit.
