THE trial of two brothers-in-law who are at loggerheads over a piece of land purchased for $58 million continued yesterday, with the complainant giving his testimony.
Thomas Masango took the witness stand and told the court that the accused, Tendai Jemwa, intentionally removed him from the ownership of the property in Spitzkop, Snake Park, Harare, through his lawyers.
“Sometime in 2012, the accused, with the intention to defraud me of the property’s ownership, went against our agreement of sale. The agreement highlighted that the property would be effectively transferred from Jeremiah Chamba and registered into the Ten Jem Consultancy. Instead, the accused went on to collect the documents from our lawyer and excluded me from owning the property that we had bought together,” Masango told the court.
“To cement his motive of prejudicing me of the property’s ownership, the accused went on to create a fake estate and submitted it to the Guruve Magistrates Court for administration. He submitted the fake estate, which had a false executor’s letter indicating that Ceiphas Chamba was the executor of Jeremiah’s estate. In this regard, the Registrar of Deeds managed to effect the transfer of the property from Chamba into Ten Jem Consultancy.”
The matter was adjourned until today for the continuation of the trial.
Prosecutor Ephraim Zinyandu alleges that sometime in 2007, Masango entered into various verbal business ventures with Jemwa as partners.
During their partnership, they acquired several properties, including 58 Spitzkop, Snake Park, Harare. Both parties allegedly bought the property from Zinto and contributed a purchase price of $29 million.
Zinto allegedly told the parties that he had bought the property from Jeremiah, as indicated on title deed number 10146/89, pending transfer to himself.
The State alleges that when Masango and Jemwa bought the property from Zinto, it had not yet been transferred into his name and was still under Chamba’s title deed.
During the transaction, Zinto gave both parties his own agreement of sale, along with the one he had entered into with Chamba.
Both parties bought the property with the intention of registering it under Ten Jem Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a company owned by Jemwa.
“To that extent, Masango agreed with Jemwa that before, upon, or immediately after the property was transferred into Ten Jem Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, he would be made a 50 percent shareholder and director of Ten Jem Consultants (Pvt) Ltd in ratification of their earlier agreement,” the State alleges. Jemwa, who owns several properties in and around Harare, has consistently avoided the truth, resulting in a delay for Masango and the peace he seeks, which is now overdue. Masango presented all signed documents to the court as evidence.
The court heard that sometime in 2012, Jemwa allegedly defrauded Masango of the property’s ownership by secretly collecting the file containing all transfer documents and agreements from their lawyer without his knowledge and consent.
He allegedly did this before the property was transferred or the ratification of shareholding to 50 percent each in Ten Jem Consultants was completed