By Staff Reporter
Harare- Zimbabwean court has fined Labenmon Investments, a Chinese-owned cement company, US$3 000 for contempt of court after it defied an order to stop operations at its Magunje-based plant in Hurungwe.
On 4 February 2025, Justice Philda Muzofa of the High Court ordered the company to halt works at the Wih-Zim Construction Material Investments Cement Manufacturing Plant pending Environmental Management Agency (EMA) investigations into alleged breaches of its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate. The ruling followed protests by villagers from Chasara and Kapere who accused the company of encroaching on their farmland and grazing areas.
Despite the order, villagers—led by Gift Kapere and Jonathan Chimufombo and represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights—filed a contempt of court application on 26 February 2025, citing continued operations. EMA also fined the company US$5 000 after a July inspection found non-compliance with EIA certificate conditions.
On 30 September 2025, Justice Muzofa upheld the villagers’ application, ruling Labenmon Investments and its Operations Director Daniel Mlalazi in contempt. She ordered the immediate suspension of all works at the plant, imposed the US$3 000 fine, and handed Mlalazi a 30-day prison sentence, wholly suspended on condition of compliance with the court’s order.
