STANSLAUS Munyaradzi Bwanya, a well-known Harare lawyer, is facing allegations of attempting to extort 2 000m² of land from a former Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) commissioner.
This was revealed by Farai Olivia Mashonganyika, who is the complainant in the case, during cross-examination by Bwanya.
The case was before Harare magistrate Lisah Mutendereki, who heard that Bwanya visited Mashonganyika’s place sometime in February with the intention to serve her a declaratory statement on behalf of Arosume Property Development.
However, Mashonganyika told the court that Bwanya came to her place with court documents which he intended to use to scare her and extort 2 000m² of land from her.
She accused Bwanya of maliciously recording her without her consent and later tampering with the audio before presenting it in court as evidence.
“He tampered with the audio, because the part where he spoke with my gardener has been removed,
“He also removed the part where I was reminding him that he tried his extortion games with my brother and now he is on me,” Mashonganyika said.
In the audio, Mashonganyika was heard telling Bwanya, who had visited her house, to go through her lawyers if he wanted to effect service on her on behalf of the Local Government and Public Works ministry.
- A president who’s always seeing enemies, detractors is oftentimes the problem
- Zacc fails to account for expenses
- Top lawyer Mpofu in Zacc crosshairs
- Police boss dragged into messy court case
Keep Reading
In his defence, Bwanya denied that he visited Mashonganyika’s place to effect service on behalf of the ministry.
He also dismissed the allegations made against him by Mashonganyika that he is a conveyancer for the Local Government and Public Works ministry, but stated that he is only a registered conveyancer and was entitled to execute such duties.
According to the evidence submitted by Mashonganyika when prosecutor Takudzwa Jambawu opened the State case, she acquired stand number 91 Carrick Creagh Estate, Borrowdale, Harare, through the Local Government and Public Works ministry.
She said after settling the development fees amounting to US$10 000 with the land developer Arosume Property Development and US$4 000 land intrinsic value with the ministry, she was given title to the property being title deed number 5690/2011.
She said in April 2022, Bwanya purported that he was representing the interest of his client, Arosume Property Development and approached Moses Gumbochuma, who is Mashonganyika’s brother and asked him to persuade her to give him 2 000m² of her stand so that he can ensure that the property developer drops legal challenges against her.
Mashonganyika further submitted that when she refused, Bwanya allegedly filed a court application to stop her from developing her property.
Bwanya is also accused of lying under oath and forging documents to support his claims.
He allegedly presented a fake copy of a cancelled deed of transfer to the High Court, while the original document showed no such cancellation.
Mashonganyika reinforced in her evidence-in-chief that the ministry told her that the cancellation letter was fraudulent and she was never aware of the same.
Mashonganyika’s lawyer, Simbarashe Mukwekwezeke of Chimwamurombe Legal Practitioners, also revealed the attempt to extort his client by Bwanya.
“I was advised by the complainant that the accused person had stated that his client would stop all frivolous litigation in exchange for 2 000m² of her land,” he said.
“Later on in early February 2024, I received a call from the complainant indicating that the accused had attempted to serve her with court papers on the basis that I had told him to serve the complainant directly.”
Mukwekwezeke further submitted that he confronted Bwanya on why he had approached his client directly.
“He denied that he had done so and stated an excuse that because it was a new matter he had served our client directly.
“We were then served by the accused person an urgent chamber application which was seeking to interdict the complainant from continuing building on stand number 91 Carrick Creagh Estate,” Mukwekwezeke said in his statement.
He also told the court that in the chamber application was a copy of the title deed of the property in question which was allegedly cancelled.
Acting upon the documents he had received from Bwanya, Mukwekwezeke allegedly instructed his clerk and employees to do a deeds search for the deed in question, where they then discovered that the title deed in the Deeds Registry was neither cancelled or endorsed cancelled.
“I then travelled to the Deeds Registry and inspected the title deed myself and noted that the title deed presented to court was an earlier copy of the said title deed and not a photocopy of the Deeds Registry copy,” said Mukwekwezeke.
Bwanya is set to cross-examine Mukwekwezeke on September 24 as the trial continues.
