Ex-director slaps PG with $71m lawsuit

News
FORMER PG INDUSTRIES marketing director Nkululeko Mabhena has filed a fresh $71 million lawsuit against the glass maker for damages he suffered for the past 16 years due to loss of employment and the pain he endured due to the “fraudulent” manner in which his employer dealt with his case.

FORMER PG INDUSTRIES marketing director Nkululeko Mabhena has filed a fresh $71 million lawsuit against the glass maker for damages he suffered for the past 16 years due to loss of employment and the pain he endured due to the “fraudulent” manner in which his employer dealt with his case.

RICHARD MUPONDE SENIOR COURT REPORTER

Mabhena is also suing PG for $73 million in salary arrears and benefits.

He is challenging his compulsory retrenchment, arguing that PG should explain who his real employer was as the company suspended him for insubordination last year and a hearing has still not been conducted.

PG Industries subsidiary, Zimboard, which was said to be non-existent in court, was retrenching him as managing director.

Mabhena said the confusion being created by PG Industries and its subsidiary PG Zimboard and the group chief executive officer James Banda made him suffer damages running up to $71 million for 16 years out of employment.

He sued Banda in his personal capacity for $300 000 as part of the whole suit.

PG Industries Zimbabwe Limited, PG Zimboard Products (Pvt) Ltd, PG Industries Zimbabwe Limited Group chief executive officer Banda were cited as first, second, third and fourth defendants.

“It is a real human tragedy that this simple case should be still in court after 16 years of painful litigation. There is no amount of damages that can make up a job unjustifiably lost to plaintiff (Mabhena) for over 16 years. However, it would appear that in the cruel and heartless circumstances of this case whereby first, second, third and fourth defendants and their rogue lawyers and have grossly misdirected themselves, the quantum of damages in this case must be sufficiently high to suggest to the employer that it should have reinstated plaintiff on August 17 2002 and settled due salary and benefits ordered in HB25/2007,” Mabhena’s declaration, said.

He accused PG Industries’ lawyers, Mawere and Sibanda Legal Practitioners of lying to the court in order for the company to retrench him.

In a contempt of court application by Mabhena in January, which is still pending before the court, PG Industries lawyer Thabani Mpofu admitted to the court that the company resorted to “creative compliance” in submissions to the retrenchment board.

This follows a confession by the retrenchment board chairperson Fannuel Francis Mafuratidze in November last year that he had exclusively dealt with Mabhena’s retrenchment without the involvement of the minister as required by the law.

Mafuratidze confessed after Mabhena sued the new Labour minister Nicholas Goche over the retrenchment approval.

Goche reportedly distanced himself from the matter.

Cited defendants are still to respond to the summons.