Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
TWO Harare men accused of misappropriating over US$52 000 in rental income belonging to the estate of the late freedom fighter and medical practitioner Dr Edward Munatsireyi Pswarayi are now wanted by police after failing to appear in court for judgment last month.
Tinashe Pswarayi, a son to the late Dr Pswarayi, and his co-accused Tauya Masunda were issued with warrants of arrest after they allegedly absconded before judgment could be delivered in their criminal trial.
The pair is facing allegations of unlawfully collecting and retaining rental income generated by properties belonging to Dr Pswarayi’s estate following his death in June 2014.
During the trial, senior lawyer Mr Caleb Mucheche, who was appointed executor dative of the estate, testified that the accused allegedly diverted rental proceeds amounting to more than US$52 000 before the estate came under formal administration.
Mr Mucheche told the court that Pswarayi and Masunda allegedly established two bogus shell trusts as part of a scheme to unlawfully control and appropriate rental income from the estate’s properties, in contravention of Section 42 of the Administration of Estates Act.
The matter was reported by United Kingdom-based Takunda Pswarayi, one of the beneficiaries of the estate and a sibling to Tinashe.
According to evidence led by prosecutor Polite Chikiwa, Dr Pswarayi had registered his properties under two trusts in 2009.
Tondori 1 Trust comprised Munatsireyi Service Station and a commercial property in Highfield, Harare, while Tondori 2 Trust included two residential stands in Borrowdale Brooke, a supermarket and residential stand in Kambuzuma, as well as a 51 percent shareholding in Tondori Farm (Private) Limited in Beatrice.
Following Dr Pswarayi’s death on June 8, 2014, the properties remained under the administration of the two trusts, with Pswarayi and Masunda serving as trustees.
The State alleges that the two men began collecting rental income from the properties shortly after the death of Dr Pswarayi.
In June 2014 alone, they allegedly received US$9 835 in rental income but failed to surrender the funds to the executor or report the transactions to the Master of the High Court as required by law.
Prosecutors allege that the conduct continued between August and November 2014, during which the pair allegedly collected a further US$42 400 in rental income.
Despite their fiduciary responsibilities as trustees, they allegedly failed to distribute the funds to beneficiaries or account for them to either the executor or the Master of the High Court.
As one of the beneficiaries of the estate, Takunda Pswarayi was entitled to 10 percent of the rental proceeds but allegedly received nothing during the period in question.
The alleged misconduct was only discovered in December 2014 after the Master of the High Court appointed Mr Mucheche as executor dative of the estate.
According to the State, the accused failed to comply with legal requirements governing the administration of deceased estates, which obligate anyone in possession of estate assets to surrender them to the executor or report their existence to the Master of the High Court.
The total amount allegedly misappropriated is US$52 235 and no recoveries have been made.
Tinashe Pswarayi is unemployed and was serving as a trustee of the estate, while Masunda is the director of City Accounting and Secretarial Services and also served as a trustee of the Tondori 1 and Tondori 2 trusts.
