High Court Judge, Justice Nyaradzo Priscilla
Munangati-Manongwa brought the nearly three-year-old wrangle to an end on
Wednesday when she ordered Demetria Zirenga and her husband Harrison Marange,
the purported buyers of the house to vacate the place within 15 days of getting
the judgement failure of which the Sheriff would evict them.
Justice Munangati – Manongwa declared in her ruling that
the legitimate owner of number 90, Harare Drive Colney Valley Chisipite also
known as Consolidated 4480/88 in respect of Stand 184 Rolf Valley Township is
Mutumbuka who possess the valid title to the home.
She declared Jonah Ngome’s purported title deed to the
house, “fake, fraudulent, invalid and of no force and effect”.
She ordered Zirenga and Marange to pay Mutumbuka who is a
senior World Bank executive in the USA costs in the case.
Justice Munangati – Manongwa accused Zirenga and Marange’s
lawyers, Hope Ndanaka Tirivavi and Advocate Method Ndlovu respectively of
having unnecessarily pursued a case that obviously had no merits hence the
dismissal of their application with costs. Mutumbuka was represented by
Advocate Edley Mubayiwa.
The Registrar of Deeds was represented by his legal officer
A. Kadengure.
Justice Munangati – Manongwa also ordered the Deeds Office
to expunge from its records, any record or deed showing that Ngome is an owner
of number 90, Harare Drive Colney Valley Chispite.
Mutumbuka’s title deed was pulled from the Deeds Office by
Lynna Mlambo, a supervisor who gave it to her boyfriend Tatenda ‘Shaft’
Wakatama. The boyfriend kept the deed for a week, forged his names and returned
the deed to the Deeds Office through another person.
Using the forged deed, Ngome sold the house to Zirenga and
Marange for US$92 000 and allowed them to take occupancy after just paying
US$45 000. Mutumbuka and those who stood for him were evicted from his house
using an order granted on September 18, 2023, by Justice Webster Nicholas
Chinamora who has since resigned from the bench ahead of an investigation of
misconduct against him.
Justice Munangati – Manongwa said that Zirenga and Marange
who had applied for a declaratur had no full rights to do so since they only
had an agreement of sale to the house and not the tittle. The title deed
through which they claimed ownership was still in the name of Ngome.
She tore through Ngome’s title deed and said it was fake
and replicate with fraud. It had no official stamp, no dates or mortgage
records. Ngome’s title deed was also dismissed as a fraud by the Registrar of
Deeds.
Justice Munangati – Manongwa wondered why Ngome has never
appeared in court to defend his rights to the house.
“Ngome who claims to be the owner of the house through a
title deed has never been anywhere close to the courts to defend his property.
“Ngome is silent in both applications. He has not opposed.
Ngome has never claimed to be the owner of the house. He must answer to it and
he has not.
“Ngome is silent. He accepts the fraud to his deed by
remaining silent,” declared Justice Munangati – Manongwa. Masvingo Mirror
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