CLOTHING retail shop Power Sales in Bulawayo reportedly defying a High Court order compelling it to pay a former employee more than $94 000 in damages for constructive dismissal. RICHARD MUPONDE SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Power Sales is allegedly in contempt of two High Court orders granted by Bulawayo judges, Justices Martin Makonese and Meshack Cheda (now retired) ordering the clothing company to pay Leevathi Hill damages after she successfully registered an arbitration award with the court.
“Whereupon after reading documents filed of record it is ordered that, the arbitral award of the arbitrator dated December 28 2011 and hereby registered as an order of this honourable court. The total amount of the award is $94 370 75,” Justice Makonese ruled.
However, Power Sales did not pay Hill leading to a writ of execution against movable property being granted on February 1 2012 and the Deputy Sheriff attaching two vehicles.
But before the property could be auctioned, Power Sales went to court to stop execution of the writ. Justice Makonese granted a provisional order on February 7 interdicting Hill and the Deputy Sheriff from implementing the arbitral award.
Power Sales then filed an application for rescission of Justice Makonese’s earlier judgment of registering the arbitral award as an order of the High Court.
However, the application was dismissed by Justice Cheda on May 14, 2012 with costs for want of prosecution and Power Sales was held liable to pay Hill.
On May 21, Power Sales, through its lawyers, tendered a security bond assuring the courts that it would pay Hill her dues. It has, however, reneged on the promise. It again went back to the High Court to seek an interdict against Hill and the Deputy Sheriff from attaching its property until the finalisation of an appeal it had lodged in the Labour Court.
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Hill made an ex parte application which was not set down after the then deputy registrar Njabulo Mabuya wrote to Hill on July 9 informing her that the matter was concluded by the court in her favour.
A dispute is ex parte if only one side of a two-party dispute is heard.
During all the court processes, Hill represented herself.
The case is still pending before the courts after the hearing of an application of contempt of court charges against Power Sales was postponed indefinitely.
