Ndingo Johwa�s judgement due next week
Sharon Mathala | Thursday April 3, 2014 12:24
The plaintiffs allege that Johwa and Rubee Red Trench engaged Huatswana by hiring machinery for a contract to debush the area, where Masa Centre is built.
The jazz musician is said to have bonded the deal with his residential plot located in the Phase Two neighbourhood of Gaborone.
The court heard that Huatswana leased the machinery to Rubee Red Trench as per agreement on November 16, 2010 on payment of P220,000 of the contract amount, leaving arrears of P159,040.65.
Huatswana issued summons against Johwa and Rubee Red Trench on March 21, 2012, with Justice Michael Mothobi of the High Court setting roll call for October 8 of the same year.
When Huatswana failed to appear for roll call and subsequently did not show cause why the case could not be dismissed by December 12, 2012, Mothobi granted Johwa’s application for a dismissal with costs.
Yesterday, Johwa’s attorney, Leonard Mosepele, submitted to the court that the claims against the jazz musician had already been dismissed and therefore could not be reinstated.
He argued that various precedents showed that while litigants could either appeal or apply for rescission of orders, they could not bring the same claims again in a different court where an order in the matter had previously been given.
“In essence it would be meaningless for courts to grant orders which are ineffective and are not respected by litigants,” said Mosepele.
“For instance, it would mean that if a litigant’s action or application is dismissed in one court, he can then turn a blind eye on that order for dismissal and re-issue the same process in a different court.”
Huatswana lawyer, O’brien Vindy, told the court that the procedure that they had taken was proper because the earlier dismissal of the case was only based on procedure not on merit.