TWO business executives based in Harare have been taken to court over a botched US$1 million residential stands deal.
The two, Lilan Chitanga (52) and Spencer Mabeka (45), appeared before regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje who granted them US$300 bail each, and remanded the matter to October 30.
The two are directors of Brickstone Builders and Contractors Private Limited, respectively.
The complainant is City of Harare’s housing and community services department.
Prosecutor Heather Muwokoto told the court that in May 2002, City of Harare approved the subdivision of a portion of land situated in Belvedere Ridge View into 52 residential stands under layout plan TP2F 2219/3, but this plan was not implemented to date.
In 2021 ,the duo allegedly duped City of Harare by allocating the land after they forged a distribution letter for approval of layout plan TP2F2291/3 dated April 20 , 2021 and , an offer letter for land under layout plan TP2F2219/3 dated April 22 , 2021.
Both documents were purported to have been authored and signed by Nathan Magadzire who is the principal director of physical planning in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The court heard that the duo allegedly forged another offer letter offering their company 14.4354 hectares of land on stand numbers 18991 to 19042 under layout plan TP2F2219/3 dated December 15 , 2015, purportedly authored and signed by Sibusiso Sithole as the housing director of City of Harare.
The State further alleged that with these three forged documents, the duo invaded council land and engaged an agent Properties to carry out land development for 52 residential stands measuring 2000 square meters each.
The suspects, with the intention to deceive unsuspecting land seekers, advertised on Properties and Classified website through an agent regardless of the fact that the stands were illegally developed .
Over 45 unsuspecting land seekers reached out to an agent who led them to the duo and made payments for the said stands in the range of US$25 000 to US$40 000 cash. The land seekers were allegedly given lease agreements and offer letters signed by the duo as the land sellers.
After purchasing the said stands from the duo , the land seekers began to develop structures on the land before council moved in and demolished them saying they were illegal.
The court heard that the duo filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking to stop the demolitions, while interdicting council from evicting them.
In the application, the duo misrepresented to the court that they were legal owners of the said land by tendering a fake allocation letter dated April 21 2021 purportedly issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
Verifications done by the council to the ministry’s department of spatial planning established that the allocation letter that was presented in court was not authentic.
The council is still battling to recover the land through the civil court.
