Justice Delayed for Alpha Commodities Limited

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By a Correspondent

 

Alpha Commodities Limited (Alpha) a Zambian domiciled and owned agri-inputs supply company has bemoaned delayed justice in a $1,904,300 fertilizer stock theft matter which occurred in 2018.

 

Alpha has sued the Attorney General (representing Zambia Police) as the 2nd defendant and Nyiombo Investments Limited (In receivership) and David Katepa 3rd defendant (sued in his personal capacity.) in the High Court.

 

According to company spokesperson Jolif Nyirenda, the matter involves the disappearance of 30,434 X 50kg bags of urea fertiliser and 396 x 50kg bags of Compound D fertiliser worth an estimated $1,904,300.00 (one million nine hundred and four thousand three hundred United States dollars) which was stored at Alpha’s warehouse in Ndola.

 

The matter has in the last four years been allocated to three different judges, but has yet to be heard after. Written appeals to the chief Justice to intervene in the the matter heard have yielded nothing.

 

Mr Nyirenda said that business for his firm had been impacted negatively due to the delayed proceedings. He lamented the lack of access to justice and contended that there had been a consistent attempt to destabilise and frustrate the company from carrying out business.

 

“The involvement of the police in ransacking the Alpha warehouse is proof of the deliberate attempts during that period to frustrate the firm” Mr. Nyirenda said.

 

The Police operation had the full blessings and supervision of former Copperbelt commanding officer and former Deputy Inspector General of Police Charity Katanga.

 

In a sworn affidavit Mr. Nyirenda claimed that on 30th October 2018, he travelled to Ndola, with the company lawyer, to inspect the warehouse. On arrival at the premises and in the presence of his advocate; they found trucks piled with fertiliser being loaded from the warehouse and driven out.

 

Mr. Nyirenda attests that the whole incident occurred in full view of armed police officers who watched his advocate being manhandled before they were both forcibly removed from the premises. In spite of his protestations that the fertiliser belonged to Alpha and that the Nyiombo receiver had no claim of possession to the fertiliser.

 

Alpha contends that the police and Mr David Katepa caused loss by unlawful means, conspired and combined together to facilitate the loading of fertiliser belonging to Alpha Commodities on trucks and against protest.

 

In a statement of claim filed in the High court, Alpha is pleading for an order and declaration that the acts of the 2nd and 3rd defendants were unlawful. A claim for damages of duty of care, damages for loss of business, loss of business against the 2nd defendant for the loss of sales during the closure of the depots.