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Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
Award-wining filmmaker Hopewell Chin’ono’s bid to appeal against a High Court decision compelling him to pay $3 000 to an HIV and Aids victim, Peter Pasipamire, who provided commentaries for his documentary titled “Pain In My Heart”, has flopped.

Mr Pasipamire was behind the success of Chin’ono’s documentary, which won the 2008 CNN African Journalist of the year award.

The Supreme Court struck off the roll Chin’ono’s application for condonation for late filing of the appeal.

He wanted to file the appeal three years after the High Court ruling. Justice Luke Malaba ruled that Chin’ono’s application was defective and struck it off the roll.

Pasipamire’s lawyer Mr Albert Chambati of Chambati, Mataka and Makonese law firm confirmed Chin’ono’s application was struck off the roll on December 8 because it was defective.

“Their application for condonation of late filing appeal and extension time to appeal against the High Court judgment was held to be defective and struck off the roll with costs by the Deputy Chief Justice (Luke) Malaba,” said Mr Chambati. “This means the High Court judgment ordering pay still stands.”

In his application for condonation for late noting of an appeal and extension of time in which to appeal, Chin’ono submitted that his then lawyers, Kantor and Immerman, had not notified him of the case’s outcome two years ago.

He said he was shocked on May 15 to read in the newspapers that a writ of execution had been issued against him for failing to pay Pasipamire $3 000.

Pasipamire sued Chin’ono in the High Court to recover money the filmmaker had promised to pay him as a token of appreciation.

Justice Susan Mavhangira presided over the lawsuit in 2013 and ruled in favour of Pasipamire saying evidence presented by the plaintiff had proved on the balance of probabilities that the parties had engaged in an oral agreement and ordered that he be paid $3 000.

Chin’ono disputed the claims arguing there was no agreement to prove Pasipamire’s claim. He averred that the documentary was produced as part of fulfilments of the requirements for his Master’s Degree in Documentary Practice with Brunel University.

Justice Mavhangira, however, considered that the documentary film did not indicate it was part of the degree studies and that the complainant was not learned enough to appreciate the processes of legal requirements in terms of agreements.

In May the High Court issued a writ of execution against Chin’ono over his failure to settle the $3 000 debt owed to Pasipamire for providing commentary for the documentary.

The writ of execution empowered Pasipamire to attach the filmmaker’s movable property.