CEC WINS BIG AS COURT CLEARS WAY TO SELL KCM ASSETS OVER $11.8 MILLION DEBT

The FOX Newspaper

In a landmark ruling, the Court of Appeal has handed Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) the legal greenlight to proceed with the sale of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM)’s seized property to recover a staggering $11.8 million debt—striking yet another blow to the embattled mining firm.

Justice Annessie Banda-Bobo dismissed KCM’s desperate attempt to block the asset sale, describing the application as “incompetent” and improperly filed. The Court ruled that KCM bypassed legal procedure by running to the Court of Appeal instead of the Lusaka High Court—the very court that issued the enforcement order.

The ruling clears CEC to move full speed ahead with liquidating KCM’s seized assets after the latter defaulted on a directive to pay the first tranche of a $29.6 million debt within 10 days, as ordered by the High Court on June 28, 2024.

With KCM having failed to honour the order, CEC secured a Writ of Fieri Facias (Fi-Fa) (a court order that allows the seizure of a debtor’s property to satisfy a judgment) on March 17, 2025, empowering the Sheriff of Zambia (a court officer tasked with carrying out orders such as property seizures or evictions) to seize property in lieu of payment. Although KCM obtained a temporary ex-parte stay of execution (a temporary court order made in the absence of the other party, pausing legal action) on March 18, that protection was decisively lifted in this latest ruling.

Judge Banda-Bobo underscored that the appeal court had no jurisdiction in the matter, stressing that proper legal channels were ignored by KCM. She also criticized the mining firm’s failure to explain why it hadn’t first applied to the High Court or shown any “special circumstances” (extraordinary reasons justifying deviation from standard procedure) that would justify shortcutting the process.

The judgment brings into sharp focus KCM’s repeated efforts to evade payment under the Court-sanctioned Creditors’ Scheme of Arrangement (a formal agreement between a company and its creditors on how debts will be repaid over time, often used during restructuring). CEC, recognized as a Class 2 creditor (a ranking in debt repayment priority, with Class 1 being the highest and most urgent) in that scheme, has been locked in legal wrangles with KCM since the Lusaka High Court first ordered the mining firm to pay its dues.

High Court Judge Charles Kafunda had earlier reaffirmed CEC’s rights in a ruling delivered on December 2, 2024, dismissing KCM’s arguments that its appeal should delay payment. He also rejected KCM’s claims of new evidence and accusations of inconsistent legal positions from CEC, calling them unsubstantiated and irrelevant.

On March 7, 2025, KCM’s last-ditch applications for review and stay of execution (a request to pause the enforcement of a court judgment) were also thrown out by the High Court, leaving no legal obstacles in CEC’s way.

With the Court of Appeal now fully dismissing the final stay, the seized KCM property—valued at approximately K338.9 million—will now be sold off to satisfy the judgment debt.

The ruling not only affirms CEC’s legal standing, but also sends a clear message to corporate debtors attempting to sidestep enforcement under the guise of technicalities. For KCM, the clock has run out.

Credit: Ask Muvi TV

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