MEMBERS of the Knowe Residents and Ratepayers Association in Norton have lost their bid to have the late Edward Nyanyiwa, popularly known as Eddies Pfugari’s son, Edward Nyanyiwa Jnr civil-imprisoned for contempt of court on behalf of his father. BY Andrew Kunambura In their application, the residents had cited Eddies Pfugari (Pvt) Ltd, Nyanyiwa Jnr, the late Nyanyiwa’s estate executor Clever Mandizvidza, Norton Town Council as respondents. High Court judge David Mangota dismissed the application with costs. Justice Mangota said the late Nyanyiwa had been sued in his individual capacity and his estate had nothing to do with issues that existed between the parties. “The shortcut approach which the applicant took renders its application to be irredeemably defective,” he ruled. The judge added:“It should have sued Nyanyiwa Jnr as an individual who took over the reins of power. Once it succeeded in either of the stated options and he failed to act in compliance, its next step was to sue, moving the court to find Nyanyiwa Jnr guilty of contempt of court. “The applicant failed to prove its application on a balance of probabilities. The application is, in the result, dismissed with costs.” He questioned the relevance of enjoining Mandizvidza to the application, saying he was a mere executor of the late property mogul’s estate which had not been involved in the matter. “The third respondent is, according to the applicant, the executor of the late Nyanyiwa’s estate. The applicant is not claiming anything from the estate. There is, therefore, no justification for it to have sued the third respondent,” he added. “The applicant’s citation of the third respondent without any justification exposes the confusion with which it processed this application. Its statement which is to the effect that the third respondent must be given an opportunity to make representations is completely devoid of substance.” The residents had approached the court after the late Nyanyiwa failed to comply with an order that obliged him to service their residential stands.At the time, the High Court had ordered that Eddies Pfugari and the late Nyanyiwa pay US$2 000 fine or risk a 90-day civil imprisonment. Nyanyiwa, however, passed away before complying, prompting the residents to institute legal proceedings against his son.