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Crime Reporter
TWO officials from the Registrar of Deeds office have said they did not find any anomalies or caveats when they transferred the title deed of a Mt Pleasant property to businessman Mr Tendai Mashamhanda in 2019, as the property wrangle between the entrepreneur and local company Bariadie Investments (Pvt) Ltd continues.
Bariadie Investments, which is battling to gain ownership of the Mt Pleasant property, complained to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) about the High Court judge who ruled against them.
Justice Tawanda Chitapi ruled that businessman Mr Mashamhanda was the legal owner of the 4 377 square metre property worth over US$230 000 having bought it in 2019 through an auction after it had been attached from Harare lawyer Mr Puwayi Chiutsi following a wrangle with his former client Mr Elliot Rodgers over US$70 000 of trust money.
Justice Chitapi observed Mr Mashamhanda bought it through an estate agent and took all the necessary precautions to ensure that the title was unencumbered and secure.
Bariadie has made applications through the High Court on several occasions saying it bought the same property in a 2017 auction through the Sheriff of the High Court and asserts that the Sheriff of Zimbabwe once instructed lawyer Mr Tendai Biti to process the transfer of the property into Bariadie Investments’ name. The company has also approached the Supreme Court over the same matter to appeal against the High Court judgment.
However, according to statements given to police by two officials from the Registrar of Deeds Office in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the transfer of the title deed into Mr Mashamhanda’s name was above board and done in a transparent manner.
This came after Mr Mashamhanda had made a report to police against Mr Chiutsi over the matter. The matter was reported at Rhodesville Police under case number CR21/02/19.
In her statement to police, Ms Prettmore Tsiga, a principal examiner at the deeds officer, said she received a file for examination and processing of the transfer of deed number 8421/2000, which was registered in Mr Chiutsi’s name, to change it into Mr Mashamanda’s name.
She received the file from conveyancer Mrs Jaqueline Sande who was appointed by Mr Chiutsi.
“I cross writ the file on February 8 2019 and also noticed that the office copy was missing. I presented the anomaly to my senior Mrs (Ellen Runyararo) Mawire (a principal examiner at the deeds office) who insisted that the file be held and I should bring it to her office. The file was signed on February 11 2019 after meeting the necessary requirements.
“However as the normal office practice I did not change dates I had cross writ from 8 February 2019 to 11 February because I was avoiding spoiling documents. As far as the caveats on the property are concerned which are 578/2013, 65/2010 and XN 318/2014, according to our Lands and Index Register in the computer were uplifted by caveats number 408/2015 and 409/2015 which I verified before processing the documents,” she said.
The deed of transfer number 8421/2000 in Mr Chiutsi’s name was then transferred to Mr Mashamhanda under deed of transfer number 708/2019 dated 8 February, 2019.”
Her senior, Mrs Mawire also said in her statement that the file was processed on February 8, 2019, after having met all requirements for registration and was finally signed on February 11, 2019.
In 2019, the High Court dismissed with costs, an application by Bariadie Investments (Pvt) Ltd, to have this deed of transfer cancelled and instead the property to be transferred by the Registrar of Deeds into its name, arguing it had already been sold to them.
In his ruling, High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi dismissed the application, saying it had no legal merit.
Mr Mashamhanda, in a lengthy opposing affidavit, had chronicled how he came to buy the property in question. He had not connived with Mr Chiutsi to buy the property, he said.
Instead, he bought it through an estate agent and paid transfer fees and registration cost and all taxes like capital gains tax. Before purchasing the property and taking transfer, Mr Mashamhanda investigated whether or not there were any encumbrances and found none.
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