admin
Prosper Dembedza Herald Correspondent
THE perjury trial of a legal clerk at Tendai Biti Law Chambers, Constantine Chaza, continued last Friday with a conveyancing expert explaining the process of conveyance.
Chaza is facing allegations of filing a false statement under oath at the High Court and is facing new fraud charges in another court.
A conveyancer, Mr Lloyd Mhishi, who is one of the highly regarded experts in Zimbabwe, told the court that it was impossible for a deed transfer to be done in five minutes because there was a lot that needed to be considered with the registrar before signing.
On capital gains tax clearance certificate, he said it was impossible for a deed to be registered or transferred without the certificate.
“It would have been possible 20 years ago, but right now it’s not because it is one of the major requirements,” Mr Mhishi said.
He said there were differences between a deed of donation and a normal transfer and the differences were easily noticeable by anyone who will be examining or registering the deed.
“In this case, it was a normal transfer since there was proof of payment and capital gains tax clearance,” he said.
Mr Mhishi concurred with the State that Jacqueline Sande was the conveyancer since she was the one who did the agreement of sale, filed the capital gains tax clearance and lodged the deed of transfer at the Deeds Office.
He indicated that the fact that lawyer Mr Puwayi Chiutsi had signed the affidavit that was presented to the Deeds Office did not mean that he was the one who personally attended to the transfer. Chaza is on $5 000 bail on the perjury case.
The court heard that on February 22, 2019, Chaza made a statement under oath and filed it at the High Court.
In this affidavit, Chaza allegedly lied that the transfer of 41 Ridgeway North in Highlands to Tendai Mashamanda was as a result of a deed donation.
Chaza also allegedly lied that no capital gains tax was paid to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, and Chiutsi rather than Ms Sande, the conveyancer in the matter, personally attended to the transfer of the property into Mr Mashamhanda’s name.
The court heard that the transfer of the property into Mr Mashamhanda’s name started on January 25, 2019 and was completed on February 8, 2019.
A Capital Gains Clearance Certificate was issued on February 7, 2019 and records show that Ms Sande of Sande Legal Practice was the conveyancer.
Online Reporter