Tanzania court hears Pula witness testimony in $195 million graphite lawsuit against billionaire Patrice Motsepe's companies

Tanzania's High Court this week heard witness testimony in the $195 million graphite mining lawsuit brought by US-based Pula Group against companies linked to South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, with African Rainbow Capital's witnesses now set to begin testifying on May 25.

A witness for Pula, whose identity was withheld, testified before Judge Frank Mirindo at the Commercial Division of the High Court in Dar es Salaam on Monday. The case, filed in May 2023, centers on a non-compete clause in a confidentiality agreement signed in July 2019 between Pula Group and African Rainbow Minerals. Pula alleges that ARM breached the clause by delaying implementation of the agreement and later cooperating with Australia's Evolution Energy Minerals, which operates a graphite project in Ruangwa District, Lindi Region, the same area where Pula holds its development rights.

Pula is suing Motsepe personally, African Rainbow Capital, ARM and ARCH Emerging Markets. The company argues that although African Rainbow Capital, known as ARC, and ARM are legally separate entities, they did not operate independently in this case. Pula cited filings submitted to the Australian Stock Exchange by Evolution, which allegedly indicated that ARC and Motsepe held relevant interests in the competing project and that Motsepe had controlling interests in all entities named in the suit.

ARC, represented by Senior Counsel Gasper Nyika, maintained in court that it was not a party to the 2019 agreement and that the matter should be heard in South Africa, not Tanzania, because the agreement is governed by South African law. ARC also moved to have the case struck out entirely, arguing Pula had not provided sufficient evidence linking ARC to the agreement. Judge Mirindo ruled that if ARC wanted the court to determine that application on evidence already before it, he would do so without allowing ARC to call its own witnesses. ARC's legal team opted not to pursue the application further. ARC's witnesses are now scheduled to testify on May 25.

The Tanzania proceedings are running in parallel to a South African ruling that went in Motsepe's favor. In April 2026, the Gauteng High Court found that ARC was not a party to the 2019 confidentiality agreement, which was signed by ARM, and that any contractual remedies available to Pula lay against ARM, not ARC. Pula has filed an application for leave to appeal that ruling and has questioned the speed at which it was delivered, noting the judgment came less than two weeks after the hearing. When ARC's lawyers presented the Gauteng ruling in the Dar es Salaam court, it caused a further delay as witnesses prepared statements on the jurisdiction question.

The broader procedural history of the case has been contentious. ARM, ARCH and Motsepe personally failed to appear at a December 2023 Tanzania hearing. The Tanzanian High Court ruled in July 2024 that those 3 parties had lost standing in the main case and they are now seeking to set aside a default judgment against them. ARC has been the only Motsepe-linked entity to mount an active defense in Tanzania throughout.

Pula is led by Dr. Mary Stith as president, daughter of former US ambassador to Tanzania Charles Stith, who chairs the group. Stith has been publicly critical of the procedural maneuvering by the Motsepe side and has said justice delayed is not justice denied.

Motsepe called the original allegations "absolute rubbish" and "baseless and nonsensical." Forbes valued his fortune at $4.3 billion in its 2026 Black Billionaires ranking. He serves as president of the Confederation of African Football and chairs African Rainbow Minerals, which reported a near-doubling of profit in the first half of fiscal 2026 on rising platinum, palladium and rhodium prices.