MBABANE – The master of the High Court has alleged that threats to stop the Royal Swazi Spa sale could collapse the transaction.
The allegations are contained in a founding affidavit filed by Deputy Master Lindelwa Magagula in an application in which the master and attorney general are seeking an interdict against Sun International Management Limited, Nedbank Swaziland Limited and Eswatini National Provident Fund.
The application follows correspondence from Robinson Bertram, acting on behalf of the respondents, to Tibiyo Taka Ngwane after the High Court set aside the appointment of Paul Mulindwa as co-liquidator of Swazi Spa Holdings and its subsidiaries.
According to the affidavit, Robinson Bertram wrote to Tibiyo on August 28, 2026, stating that it was the respondents’ ‘considered interpretation’ of the judgment that, following the setting aside of Mulindwa’s appointment, ‘any acts, resolutions, decisions or deeds purportedly undertaken by him in his capacity as co-liquidator during the subsistence of the liquidation are liable to be challenged and, where appropriate, set aside’.
The master, who is represented by Assistant Attorney General Mbuso Simelane, alleged the statement was meant to throw into disarray the finalisation of the liquidation process or cause Tibiyo Taka Ngwane to abandon the sale.
The application has been filed under High Court case number 614/2022 and is set down for tomorrow at 9:30am.
The master wants the court to direct all parties to respect the status quo that existed immediately before the delivery of the judgment and order appealed against, pending the final determination of the appeal.
The master is also asking the court to declare that the noting and prosecution of the appeal under Supreme Court case 83/2026 suspends the operation and execution of the High Court judgment delivered on July 29, 2026, pending the final determination of the appeal.
The application further seeks to interdict and restrain the respondents from interfering with, obstructing, preventing or attempting to prevent Mulindwa from performing or exercising his functions, powers and duties as co-liquidator.
The master is also asking the court to prevent the respondents from representing to Tibiyo, Central Bank of Eswatini, Public Service Pensions Fund, the master, creditors, employees, agents, service providers or any other person that Mulindwa is no longer lawfully entitled to act as co-liquidator by reason of the judgment appealed against.
The application comes as Tibiyo has announced that the reopening of the Royal Swazi Hotel is taking shape.
On Tuesday, Tibiyo Taka Ngwane Managing Director Dr Absalom Themba Dlamini said the Royal Swazi Hotel could reopen before the end of the year.
Dlamini said the reopening was taking shape and they were hoping it would be operational before the end of December.
He said Tibiyo was working with its partners to ensure that the long-awaited reopening became a reality, while due diligence was being undertaken and needed to be completed as quickly as possible.
Dlamini made the remarks during the UAE Leadership Cocktail Dinner held at Hilton Garden Inn in Mbabane, which brought together guests from various sectors, including the Cabinet ministers for Finance and Tourism.
He urged the various stakeholders involved in the project to maintain momentum, saying the vision of reopening the hotel was now nearing fruition.
“The vision is coming to an end now. We realise it. It is going to happen,” Dlamini said.
The latest court application, however, centres on the liquidation process through which the former Swazi Spa Holdings and its subsidiaries were sold.
According to Magagula, the master appointed Mulindwa as co-liquidator on March 18, 2022.
She states that Mulindwa was appointed alongside Marisa Boxshall Smith, who is a lawyer by profession. Mulindwa is a chartered accountant.
One of the reasons given for his appointment was that the liquidation required an accounts person because it was incurring almost E1 million monthly in accounting bills from external auditors.
The deputy master pointed out that the co-liquidators have worked perfectly together and dismantled what she describes as an unlawful Creditors Committee that had usurped the powers of the liquidators.
However, the respondents were unhappy with Mulindwa’s appointment and approached the High Court under a certificate of urgency.
The application was brought in two parts.
Part A sought an order interdicting Mulindwa from carrying out his duties while the application was pending, while Part B sought a review and setting aside of the decision to appoint him.
According to Magagula, Part A was voluntarily abandoned by the respondents.
The High Court subsequently dealt with Part B and declared the master’s decision of March 18, 2022, to appoint Mulindwa as co-liquidator unlawful, irrational and invalid.
The decision was reviewed and set aside, with costs following the event.
The master has since noted an appeal against the judgment. According to Magagula, the appeal is pending before the Supreme Court under case number 83/2026.
Magagula argued that the appeal is bona fide and that the attorney general is preparing the record so that it may be enrolled at the earliest date.
She informed the court that the correspondence from Robinson Bertram created great confusion because the respondents’ claims had been approved and huge payments had been made.
She highlighted that the respondents did not end with what the master described as threats to Tibiyo, Central Bank of Eswatini and other purchasers of movable property.
They also allegedly threatened the applicants, John Henwood, who represents Tibiyo and Mabandla Manzini, who appears for the Public Service Pensions Fund, that they would give effect to the judgment under appeal despite the pending appeal.
The applicants cited the judgment in Good Shepherd Mission Hospital vs Sibongile Bhembe, which dealt with the principle of noting an appeal in the Supreme Court.
According to the affidavit, the applicants cautioned the respondents to respect the law.
Magagula stated that the respondents did not back down. She said they subsequently submitted that the High Court judge had held in his judgment that any acts or resolutions that were taken with Mulindwa present are null and void ab initio.
The applicants responded that this was incorrect, stating that no such order had been granted.
According to Magagula, the respondents insisted that their position was correct.
“The correspondence demonstrates that the respondents are treating the judgment appealed against as though it has acquired immediate operative effect notwithstanding the pending appeal,” Magagula said. The veracity of these allegations is still to be tested in court.
The respondents, Magagula argued, are therefore seeking, through their demands and communications, to compel Mulindwa to cease performing the functions attaching to his appointment as co-liquidator.
According to the affidavit, the conduct interferes with the administration of the liquidation process and places Mulindwa in a position of having to choose between complying with the respondents’ demands and discharging the functions arising from his appointment by the master.
The master stated that the effect is to undermine the position pending determination of the appeal and create uncertainty in the administration of the liquidation estate.
The application states that the central issue is not whether the judgment appealed against was correctly decided.
According to Magagula, that issue falls squarely within the jurisdiction of the appellate court.
She says the immediate issue is whether, pending determination of the appeal, the respondents are entitled to act as though the judgment appealed against is immediately operative and thereby compel Mulindwa to cease performing his functions.
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