Post Liquidation Illegal
By Dickson Jere
In a landmark Judgment, the Supreme Court has today declared the liquidation of the Post Newspaper Limited as illegal but ordered that the process should be restarted in the High Court under a new judge so that the law can be followed.
Chief Justice Mumba Malila headed the panel of Judges, that heard the appeal, and ordered that the Post newspaper liquidator Lewis Mosho be joined to the proceedings and made to account even though he may have finished selling the assets of the defunct newspaper.
This means the liquidation of the newspaper will have to start afresh in the High Court as the earlier one did not follow the law.
“We refer the matter to the High Court before a different judge to re-open the liquidation proceedings with a view to ensuring compliance with relevant legal provisions,” the 55 page Judgment read.
The liquidator Mosho shall appear before the High Court as a third party to the liquidation case which will be restarted so that he can be heard as he was not part of the case in the Supreme Court.
“We note that much time has passed since the purported liquidation. We do not believe, however, that such passage of the time has sanitized the wrongful manner in which the liquidation was conducted,” the Judges said.
The Supreme Court has also ordered Post newspaper workers who petitioned for the liquidation to pay the legal costs to Fred Mmembe for the appeal.
The Chief Justice sat with Judge Albert Wood and Judge Chinyama.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we hold that the actions of the liquidator prior to and the post the purported liquidation of the Post Newspaper, are of no legal effect whatsoever”.
This means that Fred Mmembe takes over the company until the High Court hears the petition for liquidation afresh following the Supreme Court decision.
For details, read the case of Fred Mmembe and Another v Abel Mboozi and Others – Appeal No.7 of 2001
