Christ Embassy goes after Superfit over P6m debt
Mpho Mokwape | Friday March 29, 2019 14:13
The church and the gym were involved in a legal battle after a sale agreement of a lot between the pair collapsed when the church had already paid P6,865,000.
The background of the case, according to the court documents filed on October 18, 2018, Christ Embassy on June 14, 2013 had entered into a sale agreement with the gym to purchase lot 57877 for a total of P8,500,000.
The payment was to be made in three installments and the gym was to settle the bond against the property with First National Bank with payments made by the church and was also to deliver vacant possession of the property to the church upon signature of agreement.
The gym was represented by Emmanuel James while former Botswana Development Cooperation director, Maria Nthebolan, was roped in as co-surety for the gym. The Christian movement also known as Believers Love World Trust, wants to sell the gym’s property, which includes vehicles and gym equipment tomorrow. This was triggered by the gym’s failure to return the paid amount to the church after they terminated the agreement on October 25, 2017 forcing the church to embark on a legal battle and subsequently being granted an order on December 19, 2018.
The order by Abednigo Tafa had ordered the gym to pay back the money owed to the church at a 10% interest per annum until date of full payment. The gym failed to act on the order forcing the church to go for the writ of execution route and seize the property for sale.
However, it will only happen if Judge Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe gives the church the greenlight because on Wednesday the gym approached court in a bid to block the sale.
They moved an urgent application for interim interdict to stay the sale while pending a review application determination.The gym’s attorney Kgotso Botlhole told court that the interdict application was urgent in the sense that if not granted his client’s property would be sold.
He argued that the interdict was sought last minute because they had already acted on the order and had applied for rescission of the judgement. “We had already applied for rescission in the normal court proceedings and we were waiting for a date to be heard when we received notice of execution. We rushed to apply for interim interdict as the rescission application is yet to be determined,” he said.Botlhole also told court that they had applied for rescission on the normal course because there was never any event triggering urgency on the matter, hence they waited on the court for hearing. However, the church’s attorney Uyapo Ndadi begged to differ telling court that the gym had client on its rights despite being aware of the December order.
He argued that the applicants could have moved on urgency in January 2019 for stay but decided not to, presumably because they knew that they ought to have done it within a day or two of becoming aware of Judge Tafa’s decision. “It is therefore mind boggling for them to think that they can now proceed on urgency after too long a period. On this basis, it is submitted that urgency is self-created and this application stands to be dismissed for lack of urgency,” he said.
Ndadi explained that it was evident from the papers that the applicants were aware of the judgement obtained as early as on the day it was granted and that nothing was done until January 23, 2019, where they filed application for rescission and stay of execution in the ordinary course.
He submitted that the applicants moved in that way despite the fact that it was well aware that in the absence of an order staying the judgement; the respondent would be well within their rights to enforce the said judgement. “It seems the applicants were only triggered to action by the looming sale, which has been foreseeable for over three months two weeks. In light of the above, the applicants have not made out a case for the grant of an interim interdict on urgency,” Ndadi argued. Judgement for the interim interdict is today.