The High Court sitting in Blantyre, on Monday ordered FDH Bank to pay Maranatha Girls Academy K392 million for the bank’s failure to give the school three months statutory notice when it advertised in newspapers on July 25, 2012 that it would sell Maranatha Girls Academy Limited .
At first Maranatha Girls Academy Limited was awarded about K785 million but in his ruling yesterday, Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda slashed the figure to K392 million.
The Bank advertised the school for its failure to settle a loan that the school got from the bank but in turn the school sued FDH Bank for loss of business.
“The amount has been trimmed to about K392 million and the court has further explained that 50 percent of this amount should be paid outright as FDH prepares for appeal or any other subsequent action,” Judiciary Spokesperson Mlenga Mvula said.
On Tuesday last week, sheriffs pounced on FDH Bank Umoyo House Branch and confiscated computers and a printer, forcing the bank to close for some hours but FDH Bank obtained a stay order stopping any seizure of its property.
However, the bank through a press release that its Head of Marketing, Sobhuza Ngwenya signed, faulted the court for not giving it enough time to look at the judgement and make appropriate decision before the sheriffs could seize its property.
“It should be noted that Maranatha Girls academy owes FDH Bank MK281, 820, 906. 47. This amount has been outstanding for several years and FDH has been trying to recover this money by selling the collateral that was given as security for this loan.
“However, when FDH advertised the property for sale, Maranatha Girls Academy claimed that the advertisement resulted in the loss of business. This was the basis for the claim under which the whole of this matter is based,” Ngwenya said.
The statement went further to claim that the bank cannot recover this debt because the Court stopped this process through an injunction that has yet to be lifted.
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