admin
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
The title deeds of a Fairbridge Park property acquired in 2003 in Mutare were processed for a different person in 2016, it has been established.
This has been revealed as the numerous cases of corrupt allocations of residential and commercial stands done in the past by former Mutare City Council officials continue to haunt the local authority.
Some of the cases are being investigated by the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) while others are being deliberated in the corridors of power within the local authority.
The Fairbridge case, which is a mirror image of numerous stand dispute cases that Mutare City Council is saddled with, left the local authority with no choice, but to find alternative land for the 2016 beneficiary.
Although he could not be drawn into giving exact details of the cases of chaotic land allocation by former Mutare City Council managers, Acting Mutare City Council Town Clerk, Mr Blessing Chafesuka confirmed that the local authority is dealing with such cases.
“For the Fairbridge case, it is work in progress. In fact, we reached an agreement to find alternative land for the person who was given title deeds on a piece of land that had already been acquired by someone else long back.
“We have so many cases of similar nature and we are dealing with them. There is really nothing we can do as council because these are legacy issues that were done well before some of us came into office.
“In most cases, there is need for land to give to the aggrieved parties who would have been allocated someone else’s land. The challenge is that the alternative land is not always readily available, but we are doing our best to remedy the situation,” said Mr Chafesuka.
Papers in possession of this newspaper reveal that the now deceased Mr Darlington Muzanechita purchased a piece of land, measuring 2 630 square meters, in Fairbridge Park through his employer, Allied Timbers in 2003.
In 2012, the late Mr Muzanechita sold the piece of land to Mr Kent Charle.
Although the residential property remained in the late Mr Muzanechita’s name in the local authority database, Mr Kent went on to occupy the piece of land, paid monthly bills to council and made some developments.
In 2019, Mr Charle received a bill that was in Mr Ngonidzashe Mudiwa Gwandingwa’s name.
Upon enquiring with the local authority, he was told that it was a mistake that would soon be rectified.
However, Mr Charle received an eviction order that was also upheld by the High Court last year since Mr Gwandingwa was armed with a valid Deed of Transfer document.
However, there was a truce was after a recent urgent council meeting resolved to find alternative land for Mr Muzanechita, whose acquisition of a Deed of Transfer for the land remains highly questionable given that council had not repossessed the stand in question.
The issue has since sucked in a local legal practitioner, Mr Tawanda Kanengoni, who is a former council employee.
At one point Mr Kanengoni represented Mr Charle in his defence against eviction.
Mr Charle felt betrayed by Mr Kanengoni, whom he believes was conflicted in his conduct by representing him in the case when he also facilitated a different Deeds of Transfer when he was a legal officer with Mutare City Council.
Mr Charle said: “I strongly feel Mr Kanengoni was not professional in his conduct, First, he was part of the process to give Mr Muzanechita title deeds to the same stand that I was fighting for in court while he represented me without declaring his knowledge and interest in the case.”
Mr Charle has since put his complaint against Mr Kanengoni in writing to the Law Society of Zimbabwe.
Contacted for comment, Mr Kanengoni said: “Yes, I am aware that Mr Charle has reported the matter to the Law Society of Zimbabwe and I have seen his complaint and responded to it. We are awaiting the decision of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.”
Mr Kanengoni is a former legal officer who was promoted to chief legal officer for Mutare City Council before he left.
From around 2005 to 2016, Mutare City Council’s sale of residential and commercial properties was mired by corruption.
During that period, the Office of the Town Clerk would override the Housing Director’s Office.
Online Reporter