A letter dated May 4, 2023 written yesterday by Jiti Law
Chambers and directed to Matsikidze Attorneys at Law, who are addressed as Ms
Mugabe and Mr Chikores’ lawyers, threatens legal action if the two fail to
remove the properties from their divorce case in 10 working days.
“We act for Arosume Property Development (Private) Limited,
a land development company in partnership with the Government through a public-private-partnership
(PPP) tripartite agreement with the Ministry of Local Government and Public
Works, which agreement is dated June 2007 and still subsists,” wrote Jiti Law
Chambers.
“Our client has learnt from the wide media coverage of your
respective clients, a Mr Simbarashe Chikore and his wife Bona Chikore (nee
Mugabe) matrimonial proceedings that various properties in the Carrick Creagh
Estate alone are listed as part of their matrimonial estate and subject to
distribution.
“We are instructed,
as we hereby do, to demand that both your clients cause to be removed from
their pleadings all Carrick Creagh properties that do not belong to them within
the next ten (10) working days, failure which our client will take legal action
without further notice to you for the removal of all Carrick Creagh land from
their matrimonial proceedings.”
Arosume Property Development’s lawyers said Mr Chikore and
Ms Mugabe took vast amounts of land in Carrick Creagh without following
procedures, despite Government policy that dictates that one person cannot
receive more than one residential stand within the same local authority from
the State.
They have called for an investigation into the
circumstances under which Ms Mugabe and Mr Chikore acquired 213 794 square
metres of land in Carrick Creagh in light of the Government policy.
“We advise that the Carrick Creagh Estate stands are not
owned by either of your clients. It is State land, which prior to the
cancellation of the fraudulently acquired title deeds, were owned by Navline
Investments Private Limited and Montshow Enteprises Private Limited.
“The consequence of the cancellation is that the land
reverted to being State land and as such it cannot be distributed to private
individuals via a divorce order,” reads the letter.
Ms Mugabe is alleged to have been a director of both
companies while Mr Chikore does not appear to have been or to be involved with
either of the companies.
The lawyers believe Mr Chikore deliberately included the
Carrick Creagh properties “for purposes that have nothing to do with the
distribution sought before the court”.
There is also debate as to who really owns stand number 313
of Carrick Creagh Estate, as it appears that another person is attempting to
buy it.
Arosume Property Development has reported the ownership of
various pieces of land in Carrick Creagh Estate by the couple to the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), although not much movement has been recorded
in the case.
In an interview last night, ZACC Chairperson Justice Loice
Matanda-Moyo said she had read reports that the Carrick Creagh case was
reported to ZACC in 2017.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said since she is on leave, she tasked
her organisation yesterday to dig for the files and check if indeed such a case
was reported.
She was only sworn in as ZACC Chairperson in May 2019.
However, Justice Matanda-Moyo said ZACC is investigating
the Carrick Creagh issues based on the report compiled by Justice Tendai Uchena
on the sale of State land around urban areas.
“We have some cases that have started going to court but
from the Uchena Report. Theirs from 2017, I had not seen it but I want to
believe that the cases will come together at the end of the day because it is
the same case.
“When we came in, the files were not in order but I have
asked them to dig through the files and see if there is such a report,” said
Justice Matanda-Moyo. Herald
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