Zimbabwe: Former Vice President Mphoko Leaves Choppies Supermarket

The former state vice president, Phelekezela Mphoko, and her family eventually left Choppies Supermarkets Zimbabwe, ending a long battle for control of the Botswana-owned retail giant.

This was revealed in a press release this week by lawyers representing the former vice president and son battling Nanavac Investments (Pvt) Ltd., operating under the name Choppies Supermarkets Zimbabwe, on the other.

Nanavac is the local partner of Choppies Distribution Center (Proprietary) Limited, registered in Botswana.

Not long ago, Mphoko was considered the largest shareholder of a supermarket giant that Zimbabweans had often targeted to loot it to express their anger against a former government leader. that they accuse of being at the origin of their misery. .

When relations between the company and the former government official deteriorated, it turned out that Mphoko was only offered 7% of the company's shares. We thanked him for facilitating his entry into Zimbabwe and circumventing the country 's severe indigenization laws, which required at least 51% participation by the inhabitants.

Ramachandran Ottapathu, chief executive officer of Choppies Enterprise, recently said in a letter to the press that 51 percent of the Mphokos' shares had been handed over "on paper", in order to meet Zimbabwe's strict empowerment laws, but their actual participation was 7%.

Mphoko was categorical: he had the lion's share of the company's Zimbabwean unity.

The case is prevalent in the courts.

However, since then, the parties have found common ground, paving the way for the eventual exit of the Mphokos.

The agreement was announced by the parties' lawyers, Welshman Ncube of Mathonsi Law Chambers representing the former vice president, and Munyaradzi Nzarayapenga of Dube-Banda, Nzarayapenga and Partners who represented Choppies.

"Our clients, Choppies Enterprises Limited and Hon Phelekezela Mphoko and Mr. Siqokoqela Mphoko, have approached our public and the entire staff of Nanavac Investments (Pvt) Ltd, operating as Choppies Supermarkets Zimbabwe. , that the shareholders and the directors of Nanavac Investments (Pvt) Ltd solved and amicably resolved all the problems, business and records between them and between them, so that there was no no longer any outstanding issues between our respective customers, who further indicated that the Mphokos had divested from Nanavac Investments (Pvt) Ltd trading under the name Choppies Supermarkets in Zimbabwe and no longer have any interest in the company and its activities ", we read in the joint statement.