Danisa Masuku in BULAWAYO
A WOMAN has FINALLY been evicted after a 17-year ownership battle over a house in Kwekwe.
Mercy Muzondiwa had been occupying House No. 2B Flamboyant Avenue in Msasa Park suburb since 2003, without paying rent.
She was claiming she bought the property from Gary Craig Gertenbach, the son of the late Irene Helen Gertenbach.
But she failed to convince the Bulawayo High Court after she could not produce an agreement of sale, state the purchase price or provide proof of payment.
Muzondiwa told the court that there was no fixed purchase price for the house.
Instead, she claimed she paid for it through a series of obligations that included feeding dogs, paying a NetOne bill, looking after Gary’s mentally-challenged grandfather and paying for Gary’s flight to the airport on his way to the United Kingdom.
When asked to produce proof of the alleged payments, Muzondiwa had could not do so.
She told the court that she had left the receipts at home because she anticipated that the matter would be postponed.
Justice Evangelista Kabasa rejected her version of events, finding that she had failed to prove that she had bought the property.
“She dismally failed. She could not state the purchase price, had no written Agreement of Sale and had no proof of payment,” Justice Kabasa said, adding that even a person who buys ice cream knows what they paid.
The court heard that Muzondiwa’s alleged purchase of the property took place in December 2003, just a month after Gertenbach’s death and before her estate had been registered or an executor appointed.
The same property was later legally sold to Norris Trust, an investment vehicle founded by Thomas Norris in 2003.
Norris Trust bought the house from the duly appointed executor, Byron Venturas, through a formal Agreement of Sale signed on June 17, 2008.
The transaction was supported by Letters of Administration and a Section 120 authority from the Master of the High Court dated 20 August 2008.
It culminated in Deed of Transfer No. 2106/2008 in favour of Norris Trust.
Fed up with Muzondiwa’s continued occupation, Norris Trust approached the court in July 2009 seeking her eviction, US$300 per month in holding-over damages and costs.
Muzondiwa fought back, claiming that the Trust’s title deed was forged and that she was the rightful owner.
She filed a separate claim under HC 2256/19, but it was dismissed on the grounds of prescription.
The case then dragged on for years, with postponements, changes in legal representation and reallocation to different judges.
Justice Kabasa noted that the delay was unfortunate and had been occasioned by Muzondiwa herself.
Norris produced documents tracing the Trust’s purchase of the property, while Muzondiwa was the sole witness in her defence.
The court held that Norris Trust had proved ownership through a valid Deed of Transfer.
Muzondiwa’s allegation that the title deed was forged was found to be a bare and unsubstantiated claim.
The court also found that Gary could not have legally sold the property because he had no authority to act on behalf of the estate and was not its executor.
