eBusiness Weekly
Business Reporter
Ex-David Whitehead Textile Limited (DWTL) chief executive and shareholder Edwin Chimanye has reached a dispute settlement agreement with the textile firm’s ex-corporate rescue practitioner Knowledge Hofisi, which will result in the former dropping criminal charges he pressed against judicial manager.
Hofisi, accused of theft of trust property, had the charges dropped early this month through a deed of settlement entered between him and Mr Chimanye.
The deed of settlement also resulted in the company being removed from judicial management after eight years. Mr Chimanaye was opposing the lifting of the company’s judicial management after Hofisi had applied for its removal last year.
“I now want to withdraw the charges against the accused person,” Chimanye said in an affidavit.
“The matter has since been resolved in terms of a deed of settlement lodged with the High Court of Zimbabwe…and I have no interest in pursuing the matter.
“I do so freely and voluntarily without due influence or duress from any of the accused persons.
Last week, the High Court granted an order to remove the former textile giant from the judicial management, paving way for the resuscitation of the company by a new investor.
The long hunt for an investor in David Whitehead Textiles ended in May 2019 after Agri Value Chain Zimbabwe (AVCZ) bought 51 percent of the company before raising its stake to about 72 percent after buying out some of the minority shareholders.
The application to remove the company out of judicial management was lodged in June last year, but the progress stalled after Mr Chimanye opposed the application.
The new investor managed to pay all the creditors and indicated plans to revive the company through modernising its production equipment and machinery in the short to medium term.
DWTL used to play an integral part in the entire cotton value chain system in Zimbabwe. It was incorporated in 1951, under the name David Whitehead & Sons (Rhodesia) Limited. However, it changed its name to David Whitehead Textiles Limited in 1979.
It was listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 1971. In 2002 Lonrho Africa disinvested from the textile industry in Zimbabwe and a DWTL management consortium, comprising senior managers, spearheaded the acquisition of 88 percent of the issued and fully subscribed ordinary share capital of the company.
The acquisition was made through an investment vehicle called Guscole Investments. Guscole Investments comprised Edwin Chimanye, Ernest Chivaura, Ian Cripps, George Maulidi, John James Fergusson, Oliver Gwaku and Ms Daphne Ritson.
In 2005, DW was suspended from the ZSE after failing to produce audited financial results and regularise its shareholding structure in conformity with the listing requirements. Since then, the company remained largely under judicial management.
