Such shocking news come after the Court of Appeal yesterday nullified the sale deal of the shares, made in 2014, in the execution of a court’s decree in favor of a British national, James Alan Russell Bell, who by then is claimed to have been an employee of the mobile phone service provider.
Justices Stella Mugasha, Rehema Mkuye, and Jacobs Mwambegele ruled in favor of Millicom (Tanzania) NV after holding that the complaints the latter company raised in a letter to the Chief Justice on the controversial sale of the shares were merited. “We thus hold that the execution process was flawed with material irregularities, which rendered the purported sale of the shares a nullity.
For that reason, we set aside the purported sale and order the purchaser to be refunded the purchased price by whoever is holding the money,” they ruled. The justices further ordered when determining an application for revision opened by the court suo motu (own motion) that “the legally sold 34,479 shares be restored to the applicant (Millicom Tanzania NV) forthwith.
It is so ordered.” Apart from the British national, other respondents into such revision proceedings were Golden Globe International Services Limited, Quality Group Limited, Mic UFA Limited, Millicom International Cellular SA and Mic Tanzania Limited.
Advocates, who were representing the parties into the dispute, were Eric Ng’mario, Fayaz Bhojan, and Gaudiosus Ishengoma, for Millicom NV, while Mpaya Kamara and Joseph Ndazi, learned advocates appeared for Golden Globe International Services Limited.
Quality Group was represented by Advocates Seni Malimi and Alex Mgongolwa, Millicom International was under services of Counsel Dr. Wilbard Kapinga and Gasper Nyika, while Mic Tanzania Limited enjoyed the services of Advocate Razon Mbwambo.
There have been ranges of claims as regard to the transfer of shares in Tigo with Millicom (Tanzania) NV, a limited liability company registered under the laws of Curacao, claiming to be the majority shareholder of MIC Tanzania Limited, a company registered in the United Republic of Tanzania.
The source of the dispute can be traced way back in 2002, when a Briton, Mr. James Bell, filed a Civil Case No. 306/2002 against MIC UFA Ltd, Millicom International Cellular SA, and MIC Tanzania Limited.
In the case, Millicom Tanzania NV was not a party. Mr. Bell, the Plaintiff in such proceedings, managed to get a default judgment against MIC UFA Limited and Millicom International Cellular SA only in March 2005.
The Plaintiff attempted to execute the judgment against shares in Tigo, but could not because High Court Judge Laurian Kalegeya, as he then was, on November 7, 2009, ruled that such shares were not owned by Millicom International Cellular SA, but rather Millicom NV, a wholly separate legal entity.
However, on February 18, 2014, the Plaintiff moved another action by filing an application for execution against the same shares, which he claimed were owned by Millicom International Cellular in Tigo. On June 17, 2014, a District Registrar appointed a court broker as auctioneer and issued a prohibitory order attaching shares Millicom International Cellular owned in Tigo.
Such were purportedly sold by way of an auction on November 5, 2014, to an offshore company, Golden Globe International Services limited, allegedly controlled and beneficially owned by Mr. Yusuf Manji.
On November 10, 2014, the District Registrar issued a certificate of sale. The letter by Millicom NV indicated that having the buyer realised to have purchased shares that do not exist, a move was allegedly made to the District Registrar to issue another certificate of sale, where the name of Millicom NV was inserted.
Millicom NV stated in the complaint letter to the Chief Justice that “the circumstances surrounding this ‘editing’ of the order strongly imply forgery or fabrication and serious misconduct.” It was stated further that in any event, it came to be that Millicom NV was ‘added’ to court proceedings by the stroke of a pen, without ever being a party to the case, without having heard, without being summoned to the court and in highly suspicious circumstances.
Daily News
No comments:
Post a Comment