By Alois Vinga

A Bulawayo High Court has thrown out an urgent court application filed by the Zvishavane-Mberengwa Mining Association (ZMMA) seeking to bar controversial Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president, Henrietta Rushwaya from continuing to represent the interests of the miners group.

In his ruling, Justice Martin Makonese said there was no sound basis to treat the matter as urgent.

“It is my view that the application before me is not urgent. In any event the order sought in the draft order is not competent as it is not supported by the averments in the founding affidavit,” the judge said.

Makonese ruled that ZMMA’s bid to interdict Rushwaya from carrying out presidential duties reflects not much thought was put in preparing and filing the application.

“In the result, the application is dismissed with costs on an attorney and client scale,” ruled Makonese.

The application was filed after Rushwaya appealed to the Supreme Court against a recent High Court order which stripped her of the presidency of the small-scale miners’ body.

ZMMA wants an interdict barring her from acting as the ZMF president until finalisation of her appeal by the highest court.

Rushwaya lost the presidency of the ZMF after the High Court declared that the results and proceedings of the elections, which brought her to the helm of the small-scale miners’ body, were invalid.

She was elected ZMF president in June last year, but a group of small-scale miners under the ZMMA challenged her election.

In the application recorded under case number 1652/18, the miners accused the former ZIFA CEO of using “unorthodox” means to take over the ZMF leadership.

The first High Court order which was in favour of ZMMA was granted by Justice Nokuthula Moyo.

Rushwaya, however, appealed the judgment arguing that Justice Moyo erred at law and grossly misdirected herself on the issue of locus standi in failing to find and discounting that the deponents to the appellant’s founding papers were properly before the Court.