A UNIVERSITY of Zimbabwe lecturer who allegedly sold a house to a local businessman before using the same property’s title deeds to acquire a loan on Thursday appeared before Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje facing fraud charges.
Vongai Chakanyuka (44), who is also a medical doctor, sold
the property to Kurai Bus operator McLeod Mapanga, who is now late, but
withheld the title deeds.
She will be back in court on October 16 for trial.
According to the court papers, the accused, and her late
husband Pardon Chakanyuka, jointly owned stand number 48 Borrowdale Township of
Subdivision E of Lot H Borrowdale Estate measuring 3 624sqm held under the Deed
of Transfer 4719/2010.
Pardon was the principal partner of Chakanyuka and
Associates Law Firm.
It is alleged that on September 26, 2017, the couple sold
their Borrowdale property to Mapanga for US$135 000.
The transfer of the property was supposed to be carried out
by Chakanyuka and Associates, a law firm that was exclusively under the control
of the accused’s husband.
However, the transfer was not done until Mapanga died on
May 14, 2018.
Mapanga’s estate was duly registered with the Master of
High Court and the accused’s husband was appointed the executor on July 25,
2018.
Pardon commenced the winding up of the estate and included
the property in question as estate property through the inventory filed and the
interim distribution and liquidation account dated December 17, 2020, since
they had relinquished control of the same.
The accused and her husband did not transfer the property
at that stage as well.
It is alleged that on February 7, 2020, the accused, fully
aware that they had sold the property in question to Mapanga, fraudulently
pledged it as security for a debt that was due and payable to Bell Petroleum
(Pvt) Ltd, which was owed 331 102 litres of diesel by Chakanyuka and Associates
when Pardon had signed an acknowledgment of debt.
This was despite the fact that the property had been sold
and possession had been given to Mapanga and later the beneficiaries of his
estate.
Pardon then died, and his estate was duly registered by his
wife.
The accused then included the property in her late
husband’s estate fully aware that they sold the property and did not render
transfer.
As a result of the accused’s action, the complainant was
prejudiced of US$135 000 and nothing was recovered. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment