THREE TM Supermarkets section managers have been arrested at the instigation of Bulawayo Labour Court president judge Justice Selo Nare, who accused them of writing a damning corruption document to his superiors.
RICHARD MUPONDE SENIOR COURT REPORTER
The managers view the move as an intimidatory tactic to get them not to further pursue their case against Nare in the High Court.
The managers previously accused Nare of being involved in a vegetable deal with TM supermarkets.
Itayi Nkomo, Thembinkosi Nyathi and Khumbula Tshili, who are fighting TM supermarkets over unpaid bonuses in court, claimed Nare ruled in favour of their employer because of his links with TM whereby he supplies them vegetables from his farm.
Nare has denied having a vegetable business link with TM supermarkets and accused judge Justice Maphios Cheda of issuing a damaging judgment against him without giving him the right to reply to the allegations as is required by the law. In July, Justice Cheda issued a disparaging judgment on Justice Nare saying he should have recused himself from handling the case of the three TM section managers because he was biased.
Nkomo, Nyathi and Tshili were arrested by the police on accusations of authoring a damning corruption report against Justice Nare.
Nkomo, who represented his two colleagues in the legal battle, yesterday confirmed their brush with the police.
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“They came (CIDs) and picked me up at my house around 4pm telling me that (Justice) Nare had reported that we wrote a damning corruption document against him. We were made to write 12 papers so that our handwriting samples could be taken to a specialist to determine whether we were not the originators of the document,” Nkomo said.
“Our statements were also recorded and the police said they would call us when there were any new developments. However, we see this as intimidation and harassment by (Justice) Nare. Why would he want us arrested when the matter is before the High Court?”
Nkomo said he suspected that Justice Nare was angered by their heads of arguments which they filed recently refuting his claims that he only supplied vegetables twice to TM supermarkets on behalf of his wife.
“In our heads of arguments we proved that he did not supply once but many times, further exposing him. That could have angered him. If his hands are clean why is he causing our arrest? Let us finish the matter in the High Court,” Nkomo said.
Justice Nare has since denied any vegetable link with TM supermarkets but said it was his wife’s business. Nkomo, Nyathi and Tshili and TM supermarkets are cited as first and second respondents.
