BY Desmond Chingarande
TOP Harare lawyer, Lawman Chimuriwo, faces deregistration over unethical conduct after he allegedly misappropriated trust funds amounting to over US$100 000.
Chimuriwo, a senior partner at Lawman Chimuriwo Attorneys, was found guilty when he recently appeared before a tribunal chaired by High Court judge Justice Felistus Chatukuta.
Just recently, another top lawyer Charles Chinyama was also found guilty on a similar charge.
Chimuriwo appeared before a tribunal after complainants Kenias and Farai Mafukidze approached the Law Society of Zimbabwe for redress.
According to documents, Chimuriwo contravened the Legal Practitioners Act after he withheld payment of trust money to a client without lawful cause, and also failed to promptly pay the sellers upon demand using trust funds.
Chimuriwo failed to properly keep the books of accounts and did not issue a receipt for US$250 000 he received after disposing of complainants’ stand on number 820 of subdivision A Lot 58 of Mt Pleasant Township, Harare.
The couple had agreed to the sale of the property to pay off its mortgage balance with CBZ Bank.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The property was sold for US$250 000 to Anthony Machakaire, and the money was deposited into Chimuriwo’s trust account.
It was a term of agreement that the purchase price would be released to the Mafukidzes upon transfer of the property or be paid to CBZ Bank to liquidate a debt owed to it.
A deed of transfer was prepared on October 16, 2017, and thereafter Machakaire paid the full purchase price to the trust account.
In January 2018, CBZ Bank made a follow-up regarding the transfer of the property and Chimuriwo allegedly made indications that the transfer was yet to be completed.
Around the same period, CBZ Bank was advised by the Mafukidzes that the transfer of the property had been registered at the Deeds Office and that the buyer had already taken possession of the house.
CBZ Bank then wrote to Chimuriwo demanding payment, and the lawyer paid US$145 000, promising to pay the balance of US$96 000 by March 31, 2018.
CBZ Bank on April 19, 2018 wrote to Chimuriwo through its lawyers, accusing him of misappropriation of trust funds.
When the matter was brought to the tribunal, Chimuriwo denied the allegations, saying he had overpaid another client, Timothy Manyuchi, through an accounting error.
He further explained that he was withholding payment of the purchase price to the Mafukidzes because he had a dispute with them over an unpaid fee of US$3 380.
Chimuriwo said he did not mean to mislead the bank and wrote a letter stating that the only outstanding issues regarding the property was the conflict concerning City of Harare bills, which the sellers were aware of.
The tribunal, however, concluded that it was common cause that Chimuriwo withheld the payment of trust money to a client.
It was also established that the argument that he had overpaid another client was a separate case to be handled on its own.
- Follow us on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
