A UNIVERSITY of Zimbabwe lecturer who allegedly sold a house to a local businessman before using the same property’s title deeds to acquire a loan on Thursday appeared before Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje facing fraud charges.
Vongai Chakanyuka (44), who is also a medical doctor, sold the property to Kurai Bus operator McLeod Mapanga, who is now late, but withheld the title deeds.
She will be back in court on October 16 for trial.
According to the court papers, the accused, and her late husband Pardon Chakanyuka, jointly owned stand number 48 Borrowdale Township of Subdivision E of Lot H Borrowdale Estate measuring 3 624sqm held under the Deed of Transfer 4719/2010.
Pardon was the principal partner of Chakanyuka and Associates Law Firm.
It is alleged that on September 26, 2017, the couple sold their Borrowdale property to Mapanga for US$135 000.
The transfer of the property was supposed to be carried out by Chakanyuka and Associates, a law firm that was exclusively under the control of the accused’s husband.
However, the transfer was not done until Mapanga died on May 14, 2018.
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Mapanga’s estate was duly registered with the Master of High Court and the accused’s husband was appointed the executor on July 25, 2018.
Pardon commenced the winding up of the estate and included the property in question as estate property through the inventory filed and the interim distribution and liquidation account dated December 17, 2020, since they had relinquished control of the same.
The accused and her husband did not transfer the property at that stage as well.
It is alleged that on February 7, 2020, the accused, fully aware that they had sold the property in question to Mapanga, fraudulently pledged it as security for a debt that was due and payable to Bell Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd, which was owed 331 102 litres of diesel by Chakanyuka and Associates when Pardon had signed an acknowledgment of debt.
This was despite the fact that the property had been sold and possession had been given to Mapanga and later the beneficiaries of his estate.
Pardon then died, and his estate was duly registered by his wife.
The accused then included the property in her late husband’s estate fully aware that they sold the property and did not render transfer.
As a result of the accused’s action, the complainant was prejudiced of US$135 000 and nothing was recovered.
