The complainant is the State represented by Hosiah Abraham
Chisango, the Town Clerk for City of Harare.
The State alleged that between 2017 and 2019, Mutambirwa’s
duties included advertising the intention of leasing or the sale of land to see
if there were public objections in compliance with Section 152 of the Urban
Council’s Act as read with City of Harare standard operating procedures for
city valuation and estate management.
These require that when an application for lease or sale is
received by head of valuation and estates management, recommendations are made
to the finance director who then sends a report to council to obtain a council
resolution.
Thereafter, the city valuer advertises the proposed lease
or sale for public objections and addresses the objections, if any, before
inviting the client to make payments.
On May 18, 2019, Vifot Investments (Private) Limited, a
Chinese-owned company, applied for land for recreational development on stand
40072 Borrowdale West, measuring 23,9684 hectares in the midst of the wetland
behind Dandaro.
After receiving the application, Mutambirwa recommended to
Stanley Ndemera, the then acting finance director, to sell the land to Vifot
Investment.
Instead of seeking a council resolution, Mutambirwa
instructed Mr Ndemera to proceed with the process of selling the stand to Vifot
Investments who paid $91 679 130.
The court also heard that periodically, then acting mayor
Stewart Mutizwa would also directly engage some officials instructing them to
expeditiously process the land deal, which then was concluded without adhering
to the requirements of the Urban Councial Act and without a council resolution.
The matter came to light when stakeholders and the
Borrowdale community raised alarm when they discovered deep trenching and
massive excavation in the core of the wetland and they reported the issue to
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
Investigations by ZACC then led to the Mutambirwa’s arrest. Herald
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