Musa Mpofu v Simisani Khuphe and Others

The applicant was a shareholder and director holding 50% shares in the 4th respondent (Techshed Investments (Pvt) Ltd). On 29 June 2020, the 1st respondent filed a CR6 form removing the applicant as a director, and on 10 August 2022 filed a CR11 allotting shares to himself and the 3rd respondent. The applicant claimed he only became aware of these facts upon his arrest and alleged fraud. However, the respondents produced evidence showing that the applicant had resigned on 29 November 2019, a court order dated 30 December 2019 had interdicted him from interfering with mining operations, he sold his claim to the 1st respondent in February 2020, and an arbitration award had been made in favor of the 1st respondent which was registered with the court resulting in the applicant's eviction. The applicant failed to disclose his resignation letter and these prior proceedings in his founding affidavit and did not file an answering affidavit to the respondents' opposition.

• Whether the CR6 and CR11 forms filed by the 1st respondent were null and void
• Whether the applicant's failure to disclose material facts (his resignation and prior court proceedings) was fatal to his application
• Whether the doctrine of uberrima fides (utmost good faith) applies to litigants before the court
• The effect of failing to file an answering affidavit when material allegations are raised in opposition

The application was dismissed. The court dismissed the application ex tempore at the hearing on 20 June 2025, with written reasons provided on 17 October 2025. No order was made regarding costs in the judgment as reproduced.

A litigant must approach the court with candor and full disclosure of all material facts relevant to the application. Deliberate non-disclosure or withholding of material information that the litigant knows would be detrimental to their case constitutes dishonest litigation and is fatal to the application. Where a respondent raises material allegations in opposition papers and the applicant fails to file an answering affidavit, those allegations are deemed to be admitted as true. Resignation from a position is a unilateral act that does not require acceptance or completion by the recipient to be effective.

The court made observations about the nature of resignation as a unilateral act, noting that it does not need to be completed or perfected by acceptance. While this was relevant to rejecting the applicant's belated arguments about the alleged ambiguity of his resignation, the primary basis for dismissal was the applicant's dishonesty and failure to disclose material facts rather than the legal validity of the resignation itself. The court also characterized the applicant as 'a dishonest litigant' - a stern moral censure beyond the strictly legal findings necessary for the decision.

This case reinforces the fundamental principle that litigants must approach the court with utmost good faith and full disclosure of material facts. It demonstrates that deliberate non-disclosure of material information, particularly matters directly relevant to the relief sought, will result in dismissal of an application. The case also illustrates the consequences of failing to file an answering affidavit when material allegations are raised in opposition - such allegations will be taken as admitted. The judgment serves as a warning against dishonest litigation and emphasizes the court's intolerance of attempts to mislead through omission of relevant facts.