Libya's Lap Green Networks has dragged the Zambian government to court over its decision to take over telecoms and Internet service provider Zamtel.
The Libyan government says the takeover is illegal, as the company was genuinely acquired and rightly belongs to the Libyan people.
A report by a Zambian commission of inquiry, which was constituted by that country's president Michael Sata last year, concluded that the sale of Zamtel to Lap Green Networks by the previous government was “fraudulent and irregular”.
As a result, the current Zambian government, which was elected last year, took over the company.
Lap Green Networks now wants the Zambian court to reverse the government's decision to acquire 75% of Zamtel's shares that were owned by the Libyan company. “They have taken the matter to court and the government is ready to defend itself in the courts of law,” said Zambia's justice minister Sebastian Zulu yesterday.
Lap Green management refused to comment on the court action, saying it would be prejudicial because the matter was now before the courts of law.
Zambia's attorney general Mumba Malila told the court yesterday that there was nothing illegal that the Zambian government had done regarding the Lap Green Networks shares and he asked the court to dismiss the case.
The Libyan company became the majority shareholder of Zamtel in 2010, when the then ruling party, the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), decided to privatise the service provider.
The company was sold for $394 million, despite several attempts, including litigation, to block the sale of the company by citizens and shareholders who felt the privatisation process was marred by corruption.
The Zambian government said the move was aimed at saving the company from closing after plans to recapitalise it failed.
Despite the court action which the Zambian telecommunications provider now faces, newly government appointed Zamtel chairman and CE Mupanga Mwanakatwe said, two days ago, that the company will continue to pursue an aggressive growth path, adding that operations have continued running smoothly since the takeover.