HARARE – The High Court of Zimbabwe has granted a stay of execution in a long-standing dispute between Simon Taranhike, a former Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) Finance Director and S. Nyanhokwe Hand Made Jewellers (Pvt) Ltd.
The case dates back to 2020 when S. Nyanhokwe Hand Made Jewellers obtained a default judgement against Taranhike for unpaid rentals. A writ of execution was subsequently issued, and the Sheriff of Zimbabwe attached Taranhike’s property.
Taranhike filed an application for rescission of the default judgement, which remains pending. Despite this, S. Nyanhokwe Hand Made Jewellers revived the default judgement in 2024 and obtained a new writ of execution, leading to the Sheriff’s attachment of Taranhike’s property.
In his urgent chamber application, Taranhike sought to stay the execution, arguing that the new writ was improperly issued. The court agreed, ruling that the original writ issued in 2020 remains in force until the judgement is satisfied.
High Court judge Justice Esther Muremba dismissed the preliminary objection raised by S. Nyanhokwe Hand Made Jewellers, stating that the matter was indeed urgent due to the imminent risk of Taranhike losing his property.
While acknowledging Taranhike’s dilatory conduct in prosecuting his rescission application, the court held that S. Nyanhokwe Hand Made Jewellers did not follow the correct procedure in reviving the default judgement and issuing a new writ.
“While the applicant has delayed prosecuting the rescission application for four years, the first respondent has also taken no action to resolve the matter. Nothing prevents the first respondent from taking appropriate procedural steps to resolve the issue.
“Although a dilatory litigant should not benefit from their behaviour, in this case, I have no choice but to grant the stay of execution since the writ used to execute the judgment was improperly issued,” read part of the judgement.
The court granted the stay of execution, pending the finalisation of Taranhike’s application for rescission of the default judgment. S. Nyanhokwe Hand Made Jewellers was also ordered to pay costs on a higher scale.
“Pending the return day, it is hereby ordered that: Execution of the Court order dated 1st of July 2020 under case number HCH 1703/20 pursuant to a writ of execution issued on the 15th of November 2024 be and is hereby stayed,” the judge ruled.
