MBABANE -With about two weeks before a date in court,the FSRA has been accused of trying to illegally bring in new information in a bid to strengthen its case.
This is contained in the replying affidavit submitted in court by the Intervening Parties -The Shareholders and Investors.
On May 5,2026 the FSRA, Shareholders and Investors are set to appear in court following the application by the FSRA to have Status Capital Building Society liquidated. Initially the case was postponed.
The Shareholders and the Investors have made it clear that they won’t allow this move as seen in the latest affidavit.
“The purpose of this application is to pray before this honorable court to strike out certain paragraphs which purport to introduce new evidence and material in the applicants’ replying affidavit dated March 26,2026.”
“This material constitutes new material and consequently, irrelevant evidence and as such amounts to an abuse of the court process to the prejudice of the administration of justice and the Shareholders and Investors.”
The investors argue that this information should have been pleaded by the FSRA in its founding papers.
The FSRA among other arguments over the new material submitted that the proceedings before the Pretoria High Court concluded with a settlement agreement being reached whereby Status Assets Management agreed to pay the sum of E35 million it took from the applicant.
“I pray that the allegations contained in the affidavit be read as if incorporated in this application,”reads the submission by the applicant.
On the contrary,the defense argues that the FSRA’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Ntshalintshali did not state as to how the application in the High Court of South Africa,Pretoria division found relevance in the present proceedings.
“It has not stated why the said annexures need to be incorporated in these proceedings considering that the said funds have been recovered.
Furthermore,the Shareholders and Investors cry foul over the fact that there would be no reasonable time or opportunity to respond to the new material adduced for the first time to reply.
The FSRA has been further lambasted for filing its replying affidavit way after the stipulated time.
The reply should have been submitted on February 27,2026 but was eventually filed on March 26,2026 respectively.
“The course taken by the FSRA has,unsurprisingly left the shareholders and Investors with no time to deal with the new materila or alaternatively make an application to court for an order allowing the filling of further affidavit.”
Last but not least,“the Shareholders and Investors will be prejudiced in conducting their case if the offending paragraphs and annexures are not struck out.This is because they will not have an opportunity to respond meaningfully to the allegations contain therein.”
The Intervening Parties emphasized that the FSRA has abused the court process in that instead of making an application for an order to supplement the founding papers,it has instead sought to extend the bounds of a replying affidavit.
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