HARARE, Mar. 13 (NewsDay Live) – Harare magistrate Clever Tsikwa has issued a warrant of arrest for prominent lawyer Wilson Manase after he failed to appear in court to face fraud charges involving nearly US$3 million.
Manase, who is being charged alongside Marshall Mutandwa Shadaya, was due to stand trial but did not turn up.
Shadaya, who was present in court, was remanded for trial on March 19.
The complainant in the case is Langton Nyatsambo.
The allegations against the two accused are that in 1995, Nyatsambo married the late Fiona Dambudzo Shadaya under the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:11), and the couple had a child, Nyasha Nyatsambo.
During their marriage, the couple acquired several properties, which were registered in both of their names, with some properties specifically registered in Fiona’s name.
However, on February 22, 2009, Fiona fell ill and passed away.
It is alleged that the accused conspired to defraud Nyatsambo by creating and submitting to the High Court false documents, including a fake Will, Divorce Order, Marriage Certificate, and Death Certificate. These documents allegedly falsely indicated that Fiona was single at the time of her death.
- Fresh land invasions hit Whitecliff
- Pomona cash row escalates
- Border Timbers targets European markets
- SA name strong A side for Zim tour
Keep Reading
According to the allegations, Mutandwa Shadaya, who had access to information relating to the couple, connived with Manase who then acted as the Executor of Fiona's estate and presented the fabricated documents to the Master of the High Court to facilitate the fraudulent registration of the estate without Nyatsambo’s knowledge or consent.
They allegedly submitted the counterfeit Will, Divorce Order, and distribution accounts to the High Court of Zimbabwe and the Master of the High Court.
The documents, however, were found to contain discrepancies. The Will presented to the High Court was signed on October 5, 2008, while the one given to the Master of the High Court was signed a month later, on November 5, 2008. The Divorce Order submitted to the Master of the High Court, which was purported to be between Nyatsambo and his late wife, indicated a divorce, which was also fabricated.
Additionally, the distribution account submitted to the Master of the High Court listed a distribution balance of US$4,978,956.98, while the amount presented to the High Court was US$2,845,958.80.
The fraud came to light when Nyatsambo sought to claim his late wife’s estate and discovered that the documents filed by the accused made it appear as if he had been divorced from Fiona since 1996.
Nyatsambo checked with the High Court and he discovered that the documents in question had never been granted by the court.
He reported the matter to the police.
