Harare High Court judge Justice David Mangota has declared banker Patterson Timba insolvent. This comes after First Mutual Holdings (Ltd) (FML) petitioned the court after Timba failed to pay a $1 815 117 debt or to satisfy a writ of execution. Timba who is the owner of the now defunct, Renaissance Merchant Bank (Ltd) (RMB), unsuccessfully tried to oppose the application saying that FML wanted to cripple him.
Ruled Justice Mangota,
The applicant (First Mutual), in my view, meets all the requirement of the sequestration of the respondent (Timba). The outstanding part of the debt which he owes to the applicant is very substantial. Given his financial position, the probabilities are that he will not be able to pay it off.
The respondent’s assertion which was to the effect that he would pay off the debt as soon as RMB recovers is as meaningless as he stated it. He did not state the date or period when RMB would recover if it will. He did not say how he could cause it to recover, if it will. He did not state the circumstances under which it would recover. He submitted candidly though, that he was not employed and was unemployable because of his association with RMB which, according to him, was placed under curatorship.
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