Delma Lupepe, a well-known businessman from Bulawayo, has launched a legal battle to recover nearly $2 million allegedly lost in a contentious deal involving mining equipment.
Lupepe, once the proprietor of the now-defunct Merlin Clothing Company and the manager of Amazulu Football Club, has more recently ventured into the mining industry. However, his latest business dealings have led to a protracted legal conflict.
Court documents indicate that Lupepe struck a deal with local supplier Shlomo Yosef Lepar to acquire mining machinery worth around $2 million, financed through bank loans. While the transaction initially seemed routine, it soon became embroiled in legal complications.
According to legal filings, Lepar provided Lupepe with instructions on February 5, 2018, to collect the equipment from a specific warehouse. The deal took an unexpected turn when Lepar reportedly demanded exorbitant storage fees, stalling the handover of the machinery.
Matters intensified when Lepar filed interpleader proceedings in December 2018, implicating Yatakala Pvt Ltd (operating as Viking Hardware) in the ownership dispute. The purpose was to determine whether Lupepe or Fidelity Printers had rightful ownership of the equipment.
Later, on October 31, 2019, Lepar is said to have withdrawn from the legal process and canceled the sales contract. Controversy further deepened when he allegedly transferred ZWL$1,808,829 to Lupepe’s lawyers at Mashayamombe Attorneys without consent, using a 1:1 exchange rate that significantly undervalued the original U.S. dollar-based transaction.
Court submissions also allege that Lepar sold off several key assets, including:
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A FAW diesel truck engine (value not disclosed)
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A FEIHE diesel compressor valued at $20,500
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A 4×4 tractor estimated at $79,005
These actions reportedly took place while High Court case HC1958/20 was still ongoing, which Lupepe’s legal team argues was a deliberate attempt to strip him of property.
Supporting evidence includes bank transaction records. On March 23, 2022, Lupepe is said to have returned the ZWL$1,808,829 to Lepar’s CBZ account, using funds held in the Coghlan and Welsh Trust Barclays Account by Mashayamombe Attorneys.
As court proceedings continue, both parties are preparing to present their cases in what could be a significant legal showdown.
