A MUTARE college owner has applied for a protection order against his landlord, former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Dr Gideon Gono and 11 other respondents whom he is accusing of unlawfully trying to evict him from his business premises situated at Natvest Industrial Complex.
Dr Nongerai Moses Makurumidze, who runs a sports science and research college at the complex while renting the premises from Dr Gono, dragged the former governor, Clark Makoni and fellow tenants —Mbonje, Dzobo, Matoko, Tambara, Mujeke and Chigondowa — to the courts last week seeking a protection order.
Dr Gono and Makoni were in default while the other respondents were in attendance.
Ms Nyasha Kuture presided over the matter.
In his application, Dr Makurumidze said Dr Gono was leasing the Natvest property to him for his sports college but was letting his other tenants to evict him without any legal procedures.
“Your Worship, I had an agreement with Dr Gono. He was initially leasing the property to me but they are now ignoring the original agreement and are trying to evict me without any legal procedures. We are in the process of setting up a proposed university of sport and they all know it but his workers terrorise my clients and staff.
“They use the other buildings at Natvest but they disrupt my business on a daily basis. They take out the college’s property and lock the doors, claiming that it was Dr Gono who evicted me and they are just following orders. They damage the furniture in the process, causing a loss to the business,” he said.
In response, Chigondowa told the court that Dr Makurumidze had already been evicted by Dr Gono and that he was lying to the court.
“He was evicted by Dr Gono, Your Worship, but he keeps coming back. It was not us who removed his property from the building but he was evicted by the owner of the building, and we wonder why he has even cited us as respondents when we are just workers,” he said.
Ms Kuture granted the protection order to Dr Makurumidze against Dr Gono and the rest of the respondents.
She ordered them not to interfere with his business, not to harass him or his workers, not to throw his furniture out of the building and not to try and evict him unlawfully.
“He has an agreement with Dr Gono, and since you say that the buildings belong to him, then only Dr Gono can evict him, only Dr Gono can make the court eviction application to evict him. Therefore, go and live peacefully,” she advised them. – Manica Post
