Police hunt for law firm employee over perjury

Crime Reporter

An employee of a Harare law firm accused of lying under oath in the property dispute between Mr Tendai Mashamhanda and Bariadie Investments (Pvt) Ltd is now wanted by the police for questioning.

Last week, Mr Mashamhanda brought in the police over a long running civil dispute over a Highlands property and wants Mr Constantine Chaza, a legal clerk with Mr Tendai Biti’s law firm, prosecuted for what he alleges is misinformation about the property.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was still checking the details. 

Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza, however, confirmed that Chaza had not reported to the police. 

Sources close to the investigations confirmed that they were still seeking Chaza to get his side of the story over the allegations.

In the report, Mr Mashamhanda alleged that in February 2019 Mr Chaza submitted an affidavit in an urgent chamber application and that this affidavit contains a swathe of errors that Mr Mashamhanda sees as deliberate.

Mr Chaza was a legal clerk for Mr Tendai Biti and the law firm was acting for Mr Elliot Rogers.

Mr Mashamhanda has described as false the statements that the transfer of 41 Ridgeway North in Harare to Mr Mashamhanda was a deed donation, that no capital gains tax was paid, that Puwayi Chiutsi and not Jacqueline Sande the conveyancer in the matter, personally attended to the transfer of the property, and that the transfer was done in five minutes when the processes ran from January 25 to February 8 2019.

The involvement of the police came after last Wednesday when the High Court granted a default judgment on a recent court application in which Mr Puwayi Chiutsi had been dismissed by the same court after he wanted it to set aside a decision by the Sheriff to confirm the sale of the house in Highlands, Harare in favour to his former client Mr Elliot Rodgers after it had been                                      attached.

According to the initial judgment by the then High Court Judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, Mr Chiutsi had sought for the order to set aside the confirmation of the sale in pursuance of a court judgment granted on November 4 2014 in favour of Mr Rodgers following a wrangle over US$70 000 of trust money. 

The house, worth over US$230 000, was bought by Mr Mashamhanda in 2019 after it had been attached.

Mr Chiutsi had also sought for an application for a declarator brought by Mr Rodgers against the Sheriff wanting the court to declare that once the Sheriff had issued a determination in terms of the High Court Rules. 

But Justice Mathonsi dismissed Mr Chiutsi’s applications.

However, last week, High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi, following another application made by Mr Chiutsi against Bariadie Investments (Pvt) Ltd and Mr Elliot Rodgers, then ordered that the judgement by Justice Mathonsi be set aside.

The matter is still pending before the courts after Bariadie Investments approached the Supreme Court where judgment was reserved.