Court approves 52m/- accommodation fee for tourists

FAUSTINE KAPAMA

THE Court of Appeal has ordered three respondents, Max Village Limited, Uaridi (Warida) Beach Resort Limited and Massimiliano Bramucci to pay to Arabian Ventures Zanzibar Limited, who trades as Ocean Paradise Resort over 52m/- being accommodation charges for 30 tourists.

A panel led by Chief Justice, Mohamed Chande Othman and Justices; Nathalia Kimaro and Kipenka Mussa, ruled in favour of Ocean Paradise Resort, the appellant, after partly allowing an appeal lodged against findings of the High Court of Zanzibar at Vuga dated October 31, 2014.

“Having found that the respondents made a request and committed themselves to pay for the bills of the guests who were booked at the appellants hotel, we are fully satisfied that the appellant established her claims on a balance of probabilities,” the panel declared.

The justices, thereafter, proceeded to reverse the verdict of the High Court and accordingly entered judgment in favour of the appellant with costs and directed the respondents to pay Ocean Paradise Resort 18,000 US dollars being charges for rental and services rendered to the guests.

They further directed the respondents to pay the appellant 8,000 US dollars being general damages for breach of contract and for loss of use of the outstanding monies by them.

Pleadings show that the appellant is a limited company incorporated in Zanzibar, owning and operating a beach hotel resort situated at Pwani Mchangani, in the island. Massimiliano Bramucci is the Managing Director with Max Village Limited.

It is shown further that Max Village Limited, which is also incorporated in Zanzibar, owns Uaridi (Warida) Beach Resort Limited, which is similarly situated at Pwani Mchangani.

The appellant’s claim against the respondents was with respect to hotel rentals and services rendered to a group of 30 visitors, whom he accommodated at the instance of Massimiliano Bramucci. Allegation by the appellant was that Massimiliano Bramucci requested the appellant to accommodate the visitors due to the fact that his hotel facility was not ready to provide the service.

This was in December 2009. The agreed rates were raised against Uaridi (Warida) Beach Resort Limited name and posted in two proforma invoices. The guests were received at the appellant’s hotel between December 24 and 29, 2009. In response to the invoices raised, Massimiliano Bramucci promised to settle the hotel bills.

However, after the visitors had departed he became dilatory and later transmitted an e-mail to the appellant’s hotel front office manager, advising the invoices to be redone and sent to him in the name of We Can Tour T.O Srl, an Italian Company, which was among defendants in the suit at the High Court.

That was done, but there was no positive response from Massimiliano Bramucci, who instead made a turnabout and proposed to the appellant to allow him to act as its agent in making follow ups for the payments of the bills from the Italian Company.