Online Reporter
Online Reporter
A Harare man who has been on the run after failing to attend court for judgment in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of more than US$52 000 in rental income has come under scrutiny following allegations that he faked an accident to secure the cancellation of a warrant of arrest issued against him.
Tinashe Pswarayi, son of the late freedom fighter and medical practitioner Dr Edward Munatsireyi Pswarayi, appeared in court today in a wheelchair amid claims that he had misrepresented his medical condition.
A warrant of arrest was issued against Pswarayi last month after he allegedly failed to attend court for judgment. His co-accused, Tauya Masunda, remains at large.
According to witnesses, Pswarayi appeared before the court in a wheelchair, belonging to his mother and successfully applied for the cancellation of the warrant of arrest.
However, concerns were raised after it emerged that no medical report from a qualified medical practitioner was reportedly produced to support claims that he had been involved in an accident or was medically unfit to attend previous court proceedings.
Witnesses further allege that despite claims of incapacity, Pswarayi had been seen moving around Chitungwiza on several occasions over the past two months.
The complainant, senior lawyer Caleb Mucheche, who is also the executor of the estate, testified during the trial together with the deceased’s UK-based daughter, Ms Chenayimoyo Pswarayi, about the rampant theft of rentals amounting to US$52 000 by Tauya Masunda and Tinashe Pswarayi, between June 2014 and November 2014, before the appointment of the executor.
Mr Mucheche told the court that Masunda and Pswarayi unlawfully created two bogus shell trusts as part of a web of fraud and theft, which they used to steal the US$52 000 in violation of section 42 of the Administration of Estates Act (Chapter 6:01).
The case was initiated by United Kingdom-based Takunda Pswarayi, a sibling and one of the beneficiaries of the estate.
Tinashe, a trustee of the late Dr Pswarayi’s estate, is unemployed, while Masunda serves as the director of City Accounting and Secretarial Services and is also a trustee of the estate’s Tondori 1 and Tondori 2 trusts.
Prosecutor Polite Chikiwa informed the court that in 2009, Dr Pswarayi registered his properties under two trusts.
Tondori 1, which contains Munatsireyi Service Station and a commercial building in Machipisa, Harare, while Tondori 2 encompasses two residential stands in Borrowdale Brooke, a supermarket in Kambuzuma, another residential stand in Kambuzuma and a 51 percent shareholding in Tondori Farm Private Limited located in Beatrice.
After Dr Pswarayi’s passing on June 8, 2014, all properties remained under the two trusts, with Tinashe and Masunda as trustees.
That same month, the accused allegedly began collecting rental income from properties registered under the estate.
The prosecutor claimed that in June alone, the pair received US$9 835 in rentals. However, they failed to remit the funds to the executor or report the transactions to the Master of the High Court, as required under Section 42 of the Administration of Estates Act, Chapter 6:01.
The alleged misappropriation continued, with the duo collecting a further US$42 400 in monthly rental income between August and November 2014.
Despite their fiduciary duties, they allegedly did not distribute the funds to beneficiaries or account for them to the executor or the Master of the High Court.
As a beneficiary of the Estate, Takunda was entitled to 10 percent of the rental income, but reportedly received no payment during this period.
It was only in December 2014, following the appointment of Advocate Caleb Mucheche as executor dative by the Master of the High Court, that Takunda uncovered the alleged misconduct.
Prosecutors contend that the accused failed to comply with the legal obligations governing the administration of estates, which require any individual in possession of a deceased person’s assets to surrender them to the executor or report to the Master of the High Court.
The total amount allegedly misappropriated stands at US$52 235 and nothing has been recovered.
