Tanzanian court expedites case against SA business mogul

A Tanzanian court has agreed to expedite a $195m hearing regarding a lawsuit against South African magnate Patrice Motsepe and his related companies, Fin24 reports. US group Pula maintains that Motsepe and African Rainbow Capital breached a non-compete contract when they invested in a rival graphite operation. The matter will now be heard on 7 May, according to US-based group Pula, which is suing Motsepe and his companies, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARC), and Arch Emerging Markets Partners (Arch). Pula claimed a non-compete contract was breached in 2021 when Arch invested in a rival graphite project located near its operations in southeast Tanzania. According to Pula, it signed a two-year agreement with ARM in July 2019, there was a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement because the Motsepe-associated companies ‘had unfettered access to commercially sensitive information.’ Motsepe and ARC have vehemently rejected any breach of contract. Pula said in a statement that the potential delisting of ARC may affect its mediation process and the award of any damages, and it asked the court to reconsider the date, originally scheduled for mid-May. ARC shareholders are scheduled to vote on a delisting offer on 6 May. If passed, ARC could delist by the end of May.