BUSINESSMAN Phillip Chiyangwa yesterday said some of the properties listed as his in divorce papers filed by his wife Elizabeth do not belong to him.
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He, however, declined to name the properties in question and instead referred NewsDay to his lawyer, Addington Chinake, for further details.
Chinake was unreachable for comment as he was said to be in a meeting.
“How can a lawyer sign affidavits claiming that the companies are mine before ascertaining if I am the owner?” Chiyangwa queried.
“Some of the properties belonging to people like (business moguls) Nigel Chanakira, Mutumwa Mawere and others are listed as mine.”
Further pressed to disclose the names of the companies, Chiyangwa said: “I am not the one who is saying the properties are mine. You can ask the person who listed them. I can say over 20 companies listed there do not belong to Chiyangwa or the Trust (his family trust).”
But, Elizabeth’s lawyer Isiah Mureriwa yesterday said the property list had been supplied by his client.
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“Like I said, every lawyer acts on instructions. It is now a matter before the courts and it should be dealt with by the courts,” Mureriwa said.
A copy of the summons lodged at the High Court by Mureriwa on November 25 showed Chiyangwa’s properties were approximately valued at $270 million.
The listed items include 109 immovable properties, 40 companies that Chiyangwa is said to have a stake in, state-of-the-art vehicles and household property valued at $200 000.
Court papers shown to NewsDay indicate that the properties were under a family trust, where Elizabeth is a member alongside the businessman’s nine children, two of whom — Ellen and Michelle — are Elizabeth’s.
Elizabeth is demanding an 85% stake in Chiyangwa’s business interests — and is also seeking maintenance of $83 000 a month from the date of the granting of the decree of divorce for a period of 10 years from Chiyangwa’s empire.
A close source also said that the Chiyangwa family was planning to carry out an audit to determine the true value of the business.
Chiyangwa and Elizabeth were legally married in 1988 and the couple has two daughters Ellen and Michelle. In her court papers, Elizabeth claims that their marriage had irretrievably broken down and that there were no prospects of restoration. She accused the businessman-cum-Zanu PF politician of adultery and being abusive.
