Court halts tycoon's bid to hi-jack company

In what was described as a brazen invasion of a lucrative company, two Gauteng siblings have got their business back after Majali and seven others allegedly tried to steal it. A report in The Times says acting Judge Fayeza Kathree-Setiloane ruled in favour of Daphne Mashile-Nkosi and her brother, Brian Mashile, and ordered that Majali and seven others - Maria Carter, Stephen Khoza, Elvis Ndala, Nothando Nkosi, Roberto Rizzo, Haralambos Sferopoulos and Dlamini Welhencia - be removed as directors of the company Kalahari Resources (Pty) Ltd. She ordered that the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) restore Mashile-Nkosi and Mashile to the directors' list on its Website. Kathree-Setiloane wasted no time in handing down judgment after the advocate for Majali and the seven others, Mpumelelo Lufele, failed to present a case. In a hastily-filed affidavit submitted yesterday, Majali said he would not oppose the application and would abide by a court order. Mashile-Nkosi and her brother brought their application to the court after discovering a few weeks ago that they had 'fraudulently' been removed from the list on Cipro's Website of directors of Kalahari Resources. Majali and the seven others were listed in their place. In court papers, she said that Kalahari Resources was a 'very lucrative company, which has in excess of a billion rands in its bank account'. Full report in The Times

Business Day reports Mashile-Nkosi and Mashile are considering legal action against those behind the fraud to recover damages. 'We were successful, but I've got mixed feelings about it. How did I become a victim and have to go to court to defend myself for something which was no fault of my own,' Mashile-Nkosi said yesterday. 'We are meeting our legal team tomorrow to decide who to go for and how,' she said. Mashile-Nkosi has also laid charges of fraud against the individuals who replaced them at the Sandton police station. Full Business Day report

Cipro, meanwhile, plans to implement a raft of tougher new measures to ensure the safety of corporate information on its database. A report in Business Report says Cipro has announced it has, with immediate effect, suspended electronic CM29 transactions to protect its database. This follows the recent allegedly fraudulent electronic changes made to the listed directors of Kalahari Resources. Lungile Dukwana, Cipro's acting CE, said a written mandate from a company's CE or MD would also be required as part of the process for submission before a CM29 transaction was finalised. This requirement would also apply to manual CM29 transactions. The report notes Cipro will require a certified copy of the identity document of the person authorised to effect the changes on behalf of the company and an e-mail notification process will be introduced to inform company secretaries and directors of any changes in the directors. Full report in Business Report See also a Miningmx report