No reprieve for Mutasa

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
Movable property attached from politician Didymus Mutasa will now be auctioned without any hindrance after the High Court yesterday threw out his urgent interdict application.

Mutasa, the former Zanu-PF secretary for administration, lost a Range Rover Sport and an assortment of household property after failing to settle a $26 900 debt with a city law firm, Nyakutombwa Mugabe Legal Counsel.

The Sheriff on Wednesday cleared Mr Mutasa’s Umwinsdale home and took the property to LM Auctioneers in Southerton.

Mutasa engaged the services of Nyakutombwa Mugabe Legal Counsel to fight his legal battles against Zanu-PF in 2015.

Mutasa, through his new lawyers Mwonzora and Associates, had filed an urgent chamber application for stay of execution, together with another court application for rescission of judgment at the High Court.

He argued that he was never served with the order compelling him to pay the debt and that the billing by the lawyers was unreasonable.

It was Mutasa’s argument that the bill in question was never taxed, neither was it calculated in terms of the Law Society General Tariff of 2011.

Justice Priscilla Chigumba dismissed the urgent chamber application yesterday with costs.

The matter had been overtaken by events.

Mutasa’s household property under attachment includes: three sets of leather sofas, dining table and eight chairs, two fridges, a coffee table and stools, two water tanks, microwave, carpets, television stands, Kipor generator, DStv decoder, DVD player and two flower pots.

Last year, the High Court ordered Mutasa to pay Nyakutombwa Mugabe Legal Counsel outstanding legal fees to the tune of $26 900.

Efforts to make him pay the debt hit a brick wall and the lawyers this month instructed the Sheriff to attach property.

Mutasa together with Rugare Gumbo and Temba Mliswa were in 2015 expelled from Zanu-PF for allegedly trying to topple President Mugabe.

The trio engaged the services of Nyakutombwa Mugabe Legal Counsel to fight the expulsion.

They also sought to nullify amendments made to the revolutionary party’s constitution at the 2014 people’s congress.