A widow has turned to the High Court to stop what she describes as an unlawful takeover of a lucrative fuel service station project at Motshane, in which her late husband invested over E8 million before his untimely death.
Nomfundo Nolwazi Maseko, Managing Director of MFT Investments (Pty) Ltd, together with two business partners, has filed an urgent court application seeking to halt construction works currently taking place at the contested site.
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Maseko accuses her former business partner, Siphesile Dlamini, of sidelining the rightful shareholders and directors of Lentory Investments (Pty) Ltd, the company established to operate the filling station. “The persons working on site have not been authorised by the company to carry out any work there. The directors of Lentory Investments have not approved any person or contractor to work on its site,” Maseko said in her affidavit.
Court papers reveal that around 2020/2021, Dlamini approached one of the applicants, Ncamiso Eric Dlamini, seeking help to find investors to finance the construction of a fuel station at Motshane, Hhohho district. He claimed to have been allocated land by local traditional authorities, but lacked the funds to develop it. Maseko alleged that Ncamiso introduced the opportunity to her and her late husband, who was a South African-based lawyer and businessman.
The couple agreed to fund the entire project in exchange for a 50% stake in Lentory Investments, the company formed by Dlamini to develop the site. She submitted that subsequent meetings led to a revised shareholding structure: MFT Investments 45%, Thabisa Zweli Maseko 3% and Ncamiso Eric Dlamini 2%. The necessary documents were signed by Dlamini and registered with the registrar of companies, confirming the new shareholding and appointing the three applicants as directors. Copies of the company resolution and Form J were attached to the application.
According to court papers, to legitimise the business, Maseko’s late husband paid the required inkhomo yekukhonta to Motshane traditional authorities and personally funded the application for a license from the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA). It was approved, clearing the way for construction.
It was submitted that he then hired architects and a construction firm through MFT Investments to begin building the service station. By the time of his tragic death in a car accident, the company had invested approximately E8 million into the project. Maseko survived the accident, which also claimed the life of one of their children. The relationship between the business partners deteriorated after her husband’s death.
Maseko alleges that Siphesihle began to question the applicants’ shareholding and directorship in Lentory Investments, despite having signed the very documents that formalised their roles. She claims Siphesihle attempted to remove them using ‘unlawful techniques,’ including lodging a criminal complaint with the police over their appointments. Meetings were convened with the registrar of companies and Motshane traditional authorities, but Siphesihle allegedly maintained he no longer wanted to work with the applicants.
He reportedly offered to buy them out, a proposal Maseko rejected, arguing that it was her company that financed the entire project while Siphesihle ‘did not contribute any funds.’ “He was now taking advantage of me as a widow after the death of my husband,” she stated. The escalating dispute was referred to Liqoqo, the king’s advisory council, which verbally directed the parties to resolve their differences.
Motshane traditional authorities also issued a letter ordering that construction at the site be stopped pending resolution of the conflict. Despite these directives, the applicants said they were shocked to discover construction activity taking place at the site in recent weeks; allegedly initiated by Siphesihle without board approval.
“The conduct of the second respondent to appoint a contractor to continue work on the site is a violation of the directives from Liqoqo and the local traditional authorities,” Maseko said.
Ncamiso, in a supporting affidavit, confirmed that the current construction was not authorised by the board of directors. He accused Siphesile of taking unilateral decisions and excluding other directors from the project. “Applicants are not even allowed on the business site.
There are some outstanding issues which ought to be determined before the construction can proceed,” he said. The applicants are asking the High Court to urgently interdict Siphesile and Lentory Investments from continuing any construction works or entering into any contracts related to the filling station without board approval.
They are also seeking a declaration that Siphesile lacks the authority to bind the company on his own, and that any contracts entered into without the board’s consent be declared null and void.
The urgency of the application, according to the widow, stems from the fact that unauthorised construction could leave the company with substantial debts and jeopardise their investment and shareholding.
“If the matter were to be allowed to take the normal course, by the time the matter would be finalised in court the construction would be complete, leaving the company with hefty financial obligations,” Maseko argued.
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