Mbada Diamonds wins Supreme Court appeal

THE Supreme Court yesterday dismissed an appeal filed by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) and effectively barred the firm from entering all diamond concessions owned by Mbada Diamonds on behalf of its major shareholder, Grandwell Holdings in the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

Mbada Diamonds was sometime in 2016 ejected from Chiadzwa diamond mining fields following the cancellation of its operating licence by the government, culminating in a bruising legal battle where several court orders were made in its favour, but appealed against by ZCDC.

In its ruling yesterday, the Supreme Court said Grandwell Holdings was entitled to institute a derivative action to protect Mbada Diamond’s rights at its Marange concession, adding that the gems miner had been unlawfully and violently removed from its concession area by government through then Mines minister Walter Chidakwa.

This story is for NewsDay subscribers.