Meikles Africa Ltd., a Zimbabwean company with interests in the retail and tea industries, said it rejected an offer from former Chief Executive Officer Nigel Chanakira to buy its stake in Kingdom Financial Holdings Ltd.

Kingdom and Meikles merged in January 2008 to form Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd. Chanakira, who at the time was chief executive of Kingdom Financial, was appointed CEO of Kingdom Meikles. In June 2009, the companies said they planned to separate following a disagreement between Chanakira and John Moxon, the biggest shareholder in Meikles.

Shareholders were urged to exercise caution in their share dealings until a meeting is held at a later date to discuss a planned separation of the two companies, Meikles said in a statement distributed by the Johannesburg stock exchange today.

A meeting to discuss the demerger set for Sept. 24 was halted by riot police after the company was placed under state supervision, amid a government clampdown on foreign-exchange transactions by domestic companies. All state involvement in the companies has now ended.

Meikles Africa owns TM Supermarkets, Zimbabwe’s biggest retail chain, and Tanganda Tea Estates, the southern African nation’s biggest producer of the leaf.

By Staff reporter and agencies