The case is now before the courts, a year-and-a-half after
Chief Saba, born Charles Siamakando Mudenda, handed the Isuzu KB 250,
registration number AFC 6983, to Leaning Munkuli for repairs when it developed
a mechanical fault.
Chief Saba had been travelling from Harare to Binga via
Bulawayo when the vehicle developed a mechanical fault and he phoned Munkuli
who advised him to bring it to his workshop for a diagnosis in mid-2021.
That was the last time Chief Saba saw the vehicle until a
chance encounter with a white gentleman driving the Isuzu double-cab in the
Bulawayo city centre. Munkuli, the mechanic, allegedly began evading Chief
Saba’s inquiries regarding the vehicle’s status, offering a myriad of excuses
as weeks turned into months.
Fed up with the unending runaround, Chief Saba reported the
matter to the police at Bulawayo Central Police Station, resulting in the
opening of a theft of trust property case under case number CR77/11/22.
The mechanic is reportedly on the run and is being sought
by the police to assist with investigations into how a Government issued
vehicle was sold to a third party without knowledge of the traditional leader.
The vehicle is now being kept as an exhibit at the Bulawayo
Central Police Station until the conclusion of the court case.
“The car developed a problem when I was almost in Bulawayo
from Harare and Munkuli told me to drive it to his workshop so that he can have
a look at it. I proceeded to Binga and left the car with Munkuli but weeks
later he kept on making excuses whenever I asked him when I should come back to
Bulawayo to collect the car.
“After months of giving countless excuses, I discovered
that Munkuli had given the car to a man named Frederick Topiya as collateral
for a US$2 500 loan. I reported the case to the police after that,” said Chief
Saba.
Investigations by the police have uncovered information
suggesting that Topiya, the individual who received the vehicle as collateral,
subsequently sold it to a third party named Mr Johannes Geradus Blom.
“It was by chance that I ran into a white man who I later
learnt is called Mr Blom driving my car in Bulawayo and when I asked him, he
said he bought it from a car dealership. I explained to him that the car was
given to me by the Government and that the last time I drove the car was when I
gave it to a mechanic to fix it. Mr Blom told me the car had a mechanical
problem when he bought it from Topiya and he had to take it to South Africa for
repairs. The case has been in the courts since then,” Chief Saba recounted.
In a letter gleaned by Chronicle, written by Mr Blom’s
lawyers — Joel Pincus, Konson and Wolhuter — he requested a meeting with Chief
Saba to settle the matter.
“We act for and on behalf of Mr and Mrs Blom who have
instructed us to set up a roundtable meeting between the parties at our
offices. The meeting is motivated by the ruling which was made on the 30th of
December 2022,” wrote the lawyers.
Blom’s attorneys proposed three dates for the roundtable
meeting — January 26, 2023, January 31, 2023 or February 1, 2023. The proposed
meeting never materialised, according to Chief Saba.
“We have not met, my car is still with the police and I’m
forced to use public transport when travelling for chiefs’ meetings or
Government business,” he said.
Chief Saba expressed concerns for his safety, citing
anonymous threatening phone calls, leaving him in a state of unease.
“I don’t know, maybe there is someone out there who doesn’t
want me to pursue the case because I get calls from people saying I should just
accept that the car is no longer mine. The people who signed the fake agreement
of sale have something to hide so they are scared the case will expose them.
Why are they threatening an old man who just wants his car back?”
Represented by T Hara and Partners, a Bulawayo-based law
firm, Chief Saba remains steadfast in his pursuit of justice.
In response, car dealer Topiya asserted that the vehicle
was brought to his dealership by a client for resale. He denied any involvement
in a loan arrangement with Munkuli.
“I’m just caught in-between. This case is between the
client who brought the car to my dealership for resale and the eventual buyer
Blom. The case is before the courts so I don’t understand now why my name is
being dragged in all of this. Go to the court or the police for more
information. I’m in the business of selling cars to earn my commission and
that’s how the car ended up in my dealership,” said Mr Topiya.
The director of communications and advocacy in the Ministry
of Local Government and Public Works, Mr Gabriel Masvora said the onus is on
chiefs to fix the cars when they develop mechanical problems.
“When the cars are handed over to the chiefs by the
Government, they become the personal property of the traditional leaders so
they (chiefs) are responsible for maintenance of the vehicles. It’s advisable
that chiefs take the cars to reputable motor vehicle repair shops for
maintenance,” said Mr Masvora.
Bulawayo police spokesman Inspector Abdenico Ncube
clarified how an item held by the police as an exhibit can be released back to
its owner or forfeited by the State.Herald
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