Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
A MAN from Harare has taken his mother and brother to court, accusing them of stealing US$34 000 from the proceeds of the sale of a farm he was due to inherit from his late father’s estate.
The accused, John Maposa and his mother Mary Maposa, appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Ruth Moyo facing charges of theft of trust property.
They were each granted US$100 bail.
The complainant is Peter Maposa. It is the State’s case that in 2021, the late James Maposa left a will and a codicil (a separate legal document used to amend, modify, add to, or revoke an existing last will and testament without needing to rewrite the entire original document).
The will and codicil are now being administered under DR 459/21 at the Master of the High Court.
It is alleged that in that will and codicil the complainant was set to inherit a farm known as subdivision 27 of Battlefields Block measuring 1703.0355 hectares.
The two accused persons were also allocated benefits in the same will. Both the accused were also appointed joint executors of the estate.
The farm, which was a personal benefit to the complainant, was sold out of the estate and was bought by the Mtetwa Family Trust for US$1 600 000.
The money was kept by the executors in trust instead of passing it on to the complainant as required.
The accused persons then indicated that, from the US$1 600 000 they had paid US$81 732-82 as master’s fees, US$15 000 to themselves without the authority of the complainant and agent fees, including VAT, resulting in a total expense bill of US$99 557,76.
When the complainant viewed the reconciliation in the master’s account, he discovered that the accused persons had actually paid US$78 281-76 in master’s fees, agent fees, VAT and allocated themselves US$34 627,27.
The total value stolen was US$34 627,27 and nothing was recovered.
