CALU’S 90-DAY SENTENCE REINSTATED

MBABANE – High Court Judge Titus Mlangeni has reinstated the 90-day sentence he imposed on businessman Issufo Calu.

This transpired at the High Court yesterday, following an urgent application filed by petroleum company Galp Eswatini PTY (LTD), challenging the early release of the businessman from a correctional facility. Calu was kept by His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) at their Sidwashini remand facility, but could not complete his jail term, which had been imposed by the same judge over contempt of court allegations. He only spent about three days in custody, it was earlier reported.

This apparently did not go down well with the management of the petroleum company, which is embroiled in a protracted litigation process sparked by a lease relationship, which had taken a nosedive. The petroleum company is in a lease relationship with Calu in respect of premises described as shop No.0, Ground Floor, Big Tree Complex, Matsapha. The parties are on opposite ends regarding their respective rights and obligations in respect of the lease agreement. A background of the dispute suggests that the petroleum company initiated arbitration proceedings in terms of a clause in the lease agreement, but they are not getting the necessary cooperation from Calu and his company.

Cancel

By letter dated February 19, 2024, Ncamase Investments PTY (LTD) apparently purported to cancel the lease agreement with effect from February 13, 2024, right in the middle of the month. Oddly enough, the dates showed that the cancellation was with retrospective effect. What then followed was an email dated February 29, 2024, in which the first respondent informed management of the petroleum company that they no longer had a lease agreement and were required to remove their belongings from the premises or ‘we are removing them’.
The petroleum company averred that on March 02, 2024, just one day after the terse warning, the businessman’s company started removing the petroleum company’s assets from the leased premises.

These included massive underground tanks, fuel pumps, a canopy that shelters the fuel station and various other accessories of an operational fuel outlet. What followed was a series of litigation proceedings culminating in the petroleum company getting a restraining order against Calu, who is the director of Ncamase Investments. The businessman reportedly did not comply with the restraining order, resulting in him being thrown to jail for a period of 90 days. However, he was released earlier than expected. This resulted in the petroleum company instituting legal proceedings against HMCS, which was challenged over the early release of Calu.

In court documents, which were filed at the High Court, Galp Eswatini (PTY) LTD, a company that is embroiled in the protracted legal battle with the businessman, questioned why the release date for the businessman was brought forward. Galp Eswatini Managing Director Bruno Marques argued that HMCS had failed to provide basic details regarding the early release of the businessman.

Release

He said the government department ought to have produced a court order directing officials to facilitate the early release of the businessman. He said the only document that was provided by the government department was a memorandum, which he argued that it was unlawful and unconstitutional. He stated that the businessman was not eligible for early release. In his founding affidavit, Marques tried to persuade the court to compel HMCS to immediately apprehend Calu, in order for him to go back and serve his full 90-day sentence. He requested the court to set aside the decision by HMCS to release the businessman, arguing that it had no legal basis. “The decision of the first respondent dated August 06, 2024 to release the second respondent from incarceration following the second respondent having been sentenced to a period of direct imprisonment for 90 days without an option of a fine pursuant to a finding of contempt of court, in terms of the order of Mlangeni J dated August 03, 2024, is hereby reviewed and set aside,” submitted Marques.

Persuade

In his bid to persuade the court to come to a favourable decision, the company’s managing director said his application raised serious matters bordering on issues of the rule of law and administration of justice.“The crime of contempt of court is not an issue between the parties specifically, but an issue between the court and the party, who has not complied with a mandatory order of court. “This has the effect of disrespecting the courts, and ultimately the rule of law with the damage occasioned, thereby to the Judiciary being ineffective and eventually powerless.

“The court’s intervention is, therefore, required to restore the dignity of the court and to arrest the further erosion of the rule of law,” he argued. The matter was eventually enrolled in court yesterday, where Judge Mlangeni reiterated his stance of sending the businessman to jail for the stipulated period of 90 days. Calu was further ordered to take back the assets belonging to the petroleum company, which were removed from his premises within a period of 21 days upon completion of his sentence. “In the event that Calu fails to do so within a period of 21 days, he will be in further contempt of court and would be dealt with as the court may deem appropriate at that stage,” declared the judge.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: