How to Get the “Fred Moyo Trial”: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding the Real Case, Records, and Judgments

Why this guide?

If you’ve searched for “how to get Fred Moyo trial”, you’ve probably noticed two immediate problems:

1. most pages treat it like a headline without showing you how to actually access the underlying court material, and
2. the phrase “trial” itself is a bit misleading. The widely reported matter surrounding Fred Moyo, Zimbabwe’s former Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, centered on civil debt litigation—not a televised criminal trial. The litigation includes a High Court ruling ordering attachment of assets over a Stanbic Bank loan, and a Supreme Court decision dismissing an appeal.

This guide explains exactly how to find credible information and primary documents—from the case background and names you’ll need, to where to look for judgments online, and how to request copies from court registries if a judgment isn’t on the web.

Part 1 — Understand what the “Fred Moyo trial” actually is

The matter in brief (so your search starts on solid ground)

• Core dispute: A Stanbic Bank recapitalization loan (for Ox Mining) that went unpaid, leading to civil recovery proceedings in Zimbabwe’s courts. The High Court ordered attachment of property to satisfy a debt of about US$766,000, after an earlier auction recovered very little. The judgment was issued by Justice Edith Mushore.
• Enforcement & attachment: Reports from 2016 described the sheriff attaching property at Moyo’s Borrowdale home when the debt (with interest/charges) was cited around US$1.5 million.
• Appeal shot down: In 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed Moyo’s attempt to appeal (case SC 276/19 cited in coverage), leaving the High Court position in place.

Why this matters: Knowing the proceeding is civil debt litigation (not a criminal trial) helps you pick the right repositories and the right search terms (e.g., “Stanbic Bank,” “Ox Mining,” “High Court Harare,” “SC 276/19,” “Edith Mushore J”, “attachment of property,” “Nelundo Family Trust,” etc.). News summaries from the time confirm the procedural posture and key names.

Part 2 — Start with freely accessible sources (news, law indexes)

A) Newspapers with court reporting

• NewsDay Zimbabwe covered both the High Court order against Moyo’s estate and the Supreme Court dismissal of his appeal. Use those articles to capture dates, judge names, and any case numbers you can carry into legal databases.
• Other outlets (e.g., NewZimbabwe, The Herald) provide complementary coverage of the property attachment and auction attempts. These help triangulate facts and confirm that you’re tracking the right matter.

Pro tip: When news stories cite a case number (e.g., SC 276/19), copy it exactly. That string is your most valuable search key once you move to legal repositories.

B) Find judgments on ZimLII

The Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute (ZimLII) publishes large collections of High Court and Supreme Court judgments online—free to the public. Use:

• The All Judgments index to browse by court and year, or
• The Supreme Court or Harare High Court sections directly, and
• The Advanced search box to try party names, judges, or case numbers (e.g., “Stanbic”, “Ox Mining”, “Moyo”, “Mushore”, or “SC 276/19”).

Where to start: ZimLII homepage → Judgments → choose Supreme Court of Zimbabwe or Harare High Court → use Advanced search.

Part 3 — If you cannot find the exact judgment online

Sometimes not every decision, order, or minute is posted online. When that happens:

A) Contact the Judicial Service Commission (JSC)

The JSC oversees court administration. Its website provides information on the courts and contact pages that can route you to the right registry (e.g., the Registrar of the High Court or Supreme Court). You can inquire how to inspect a file or request a certified copy of a judgment.

B) Reach the specific court registrar

• The Harare High Court Registrar listing (as compiled by the Zimbabwe Lawyers/Law Firms directory) provides phone contacts for the registry. Calling the registrar’s office, explain you’re seeking file inspection or a copy of a judgment; have names of parties, approximate dates, court (High Court/Supreme Court), and any case number ready.

Expect to be told whether the record is available for public inspection, what fees apply for copies, and whether requests must be in person or can be initiated by email.

C) Visit the court building (if you’re in Harare)

If you can attend in person, go to the High Court, Harare and ask at the Registry about the file. Bring identification and be prepared to pay small copying fees or submit a written request. (General information on the court’s role and where appeals go helps you confirm you’re in the right place.)

Part 4 — Build a clean research trail (so you can cite properly)

1. Capture exact parties
   From reputable press reports, note Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe Ltd, Ox Mining (Pvt) Ltd, Fred Moyo, and any cited co-directors. Also note mention of the Nelundo Family Trust and the judge Edith Mushore J; these are powerful search terms if the case is indexed that way.
2. Capture dates & courts
   • High Court order reported May 2019 (attachment over ~US$766k debt).
   • Supreme Court dismissal of appeal reported 2020.
3. Check ZimLII by court + year
   Even if you don’t see the parties in the title line, you can browse 2019 High Court and 2020 Supreme Court lists and then search the PDFs for names inside.
4. Keep a copy of press clippings
   Save the NewsDay links; if a clerk asks for context or case number, you have the key details to hand.

Part 5 — What you can expect to find

A) News articles summarizing orders

• NewsDay reports that after an earlier auction yielded only US$7,767, the High Court ordered attachment of the estate; it names Justice Edith Mushore as the judge.
• NewZimbabwe also covered the order to sell property; The Herald documented sheriff actions and itemized attachments.
• Additional aggregators replicate those pieces; use the originals where possible.

B) Supreme Court outcome

• The Supreme Court rejected leave to appeal (cited as SC 276/19 in reporting), which effectively left the High Court position intact. That’s your marker for 2020 Supreme Court searches.

C) Not a criminal “trial”

• You will not find a criminal indictment or trial transcript—this was civil debt enforcement. Expect judgments, orders, and writs rather than charge sheets or a prosecutor’s opening statement. The language you’ll see is about attachment, execution, trust dispositions, and appeals.

Part 6 — Practical templates and phrasing (to save time)

When calling or emailing a court registry or the JSC, use precise, neutral wording:

• “I’m seeking a copy of the High Court judgment/order concerning Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe and Ox Mining (involving Mr. Fred Moyo), reported around May 2019, issued by Justice Edith Mushore. Could you advise the case number, whether the judgment is available for inspection or copy, and the applicable fees?”
• “I’m also seeking the Supreme Court decision reported in 2020 under case SC 276/19. Could you confirm availability and copying procedure?”

The registrar may point you to a file inspection, a copy desk, or—if published online—to ZimLII. Keep their instructions and receipts.

Where to find official points of contact:

• Judicial Service Commission (JSC) website with contacts by court; this is the safest way to route a request.
• Harare High Court Registrar (phone contacts listed in the Zimbabwe Lawyers directory page). Treat directories as secondary—use them to prepare for a call, but verify details with the court/JSC.

Part 7 — Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

• Relying only on low-quality aggregates. Many sites copy the same paragraph. Prioritize NewsDay and other primary outlets or ZimLII.
• Assuming it’s a criminal trial. That will send you searching the wrong registries. Focus on civil judgments/orders (High Court → Supreme Court).
• Dropping key names from your search. Always pair “Stanbic Bank” or “Ox Mining” with “Moyo” and the court level. Use SC 276/19 for the appeal.
• Expecting every order online. If the judgment isn’t on ZimLII, call or visit the Registry and request a copy per their procedures.

Part 8 — Extended research: beyond one case

Interested in the wider legal environment? ZimLII’s judgment indexes let you explore similar civil-procedure topics (e.g., summary judgment, execution, insolvency, trust dispositions). This can help you compare reasoning across cases or understand the standards courts apply when judging dispositions into family trusts during debt recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What exactly should I ask for at the court?
A: Ask for the case file (or the judgment/order) involving Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe Ltd, Ox Mining (Pvt) Ltd, and Fred Moyo—High Court (around May 2019), and the Supreme Court appeal circa 2020 (SC 276/19). Be ready to pay copying fees and follow the Registry’s process.

Q: Can I rely solely on news articles?
A: Use them to locate the case (dates, parties, judge names). For authority, cite judgments where available or obtain certified copies from the court.

Q: Is there a single government portal for judgments?
A: The JSC oversees the court system, while ZimLII publishes many judgments for free public access. If the judgment you want isn’t on ZimLII, ask the Registrar how to obtain it.

Bottom line

To “get the Fred Moyo trial,” you are, in practice, trying to obtain civil court judgments and orders (not a criminal trial transcript). Do this:

1. Anchor your search with trusted news reports (High Court order in 2019; Supreme Court dismissal in 2020 with SC 276/19).
2. Check ZimLII for published judgments by court, year, party or case number.
3. If not online, contact the Registrar (via the JSC contacts or the High Court phone numbers) and request a copy per court rules.
4. Keep a clean trail—note dates, judges, and parties for accurate citations and follow-ups.

For careful, fact-checked explainers that cut through noise and point you to primary sources, keep reading Newtly—we do the legwork so you can rely on what you cite.