SNIFFER DOG ‘KEY WITNESS’ IN CASE OF BURNT USUTU FOREST

MBABANE – The ‘chief investigator’ of the matter is a dog but the sad part of it is that it cannot come to court to testify.

This is the story of a sniffer dog of Usutu Forest Products (PTY) Limited which did investigations that now form part of litigation. Its investigations led to the discovery of some people who had burnt forests belonging to the company.
The exploration by the sniffer dog resulted in Usutu Forest Products terminating the contract of Imvuselelo Investment, a company which it had sub-contracted to harvest gum trees.
The investigations by the sniffer dog were outlined to the court by one of the security personnel.

During the hearing of the matter, Sihle Mavuso from Usuthu Forest Products told Judge Mumcy Dlamini that they were able to identify the culprits through the dog. He told the court that together with a team of qualified trackers who were using trained dogs, they went to the fire scene. 
Mavuso said the dogs led them to Imvuselelo compound (where the employees of the company’s which had been sub-contracted were staying).  According to Mavuso, the dogs then led them to a room where four of the employees of Imvuselelo Investment were staying.

“Four men who were employees of Imvuselelo were fingered as the ones who burnt the forest,” he stated.
Imvuselelo has since taken Usutu Forest Products to court where it demanding E13.7 million for alleged breach of contract. In its particulars of claim, the company claimed that on or about July 31, 2015, it entered into a written agreement with Usutu Forest Products.

It informed the court that during the signing of the agreement it was represented by its Chairperson, Masotsha Dlamini, and Usutu Forest Product Company represented by its Forest Manager, Jurgnes Kritzinger.
It alleged that the material terms of the agreement were inter alia as follows:  that the plaintiff (Imvuselelo Investment) was to harvest gum trees, Usutu will in turn weigh the harvested products at the weighbridge and pay as per invoice generated, plaintiff was expected to harvest, fell 30 000 weighbridge tones of gum per year.

Imvuselelo informed the court that it performed its obligations in terms of the joint venture and felled trees for the month of September 2015 and Usutu Forest Products duly paid as per the agreement.
The company (Imvuselelo Investment) had engaged its own workforce for purposes of meeting its contractual obligations and was to remunerate them as per their own agreement.
The management of the company claimed that because of the agreement it had with Usutu Forest Product, it had approached the bank for an overdraft facility. 

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