A STEWARD Bank legal manager was summoned to appear at the Harare Magistrates’ Court yesterday charged with contempt of court after he refused to freeze the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) bank account which had been placed under judiciary attachment over $180 000 debt.
Desmond Chingarande
Itai Gift Watinaye (34), of Kwame Nkrumah branch, was summoned to appear before magistrate Tracy Muzondo, who postponed the matter to January 29 after the docket was sent back to police for further management.
The complainant in the matter is the Ministry of Justice represented by additional sheriff Allen Benhura.
Allegations are that on August 6 2015 a court order against Zifa was granted in favour of Daisy Guest House. The judgement was that Zifa should pay Lazarus Riva a sum of $23 078 and pay Daisy Guest House a sum of $161 762. On September 10 Riva and Daisy Guest House obtained a writ of execution against Zifa’s movable property.
The additional sheriff made a follow-up on movable properties of Zifa and he found out that among the properties were Zifa accounts at Steward Bank.
It is alleged on May 26 last year, Riva and Daisy Guest House legal practitioners instructed the deputy sheriff to attach funds in Zifa’s Steward Bank accounts and a notice of seizure and attachment was made to transfer money into the Sheriff of the High Court’s bank account.
The complainant proceeded to Steward Bank on May 30 last year and attached Zifa’s two bank accounts and the accounts were subsequently frozen, but Watinaye did not transfer the money into the Sheriff of the High Court bank account.
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The complainant approached Watinaye on June 2 and was told that the transfer instruction they were seeking was unlawful. The complainant went and advised his bosses who instructed him to make a police report, leading to Watinaye’s arrest.
Molly Murozvi appeared for the State.
