THE High Court has acquitted two land dealers from Brickstone Company who caused an uproar last year after they allegedly sold residential stands to unsuspecting home-seekers in Marimba, Harare, which were later demolished by the City of Harare.
It emerged during trial that Kudakwashe Mnangagwa was one of the directors of Blackstone Company that sold the stands to unsuspecting home-seekers.
Lilian Chitanga and Spencer Mabheka were arrested last year after complete houses were demolished by council, with their case being widely publicised in the media.
The two were facing fraud charges involving US$1,5 million.
They were, however, acquitted at the close of the State’s case.
The prosecution alleged that between April 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, Chitanga and Mabheka misrepresented that their company had been allocated a piece of land in the Belvedere Ridge View area by the Local Government and Public Works ministry.
It was stated that they further misrepresented that they had authority to develop the piece of land, causing potential financial prejudice of US$1,5 million to the City of Harare.
The State alleged that in May 2021, the City of Harare approved the subdivision of the land to 52 residential stands.
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It was alleged that the two forged a letter offering Brickstone Builders and Contractors 14,4354 hectares of land.
However, the police established that the signatures on the documents were forged.
Armed with the forged documents, Chitanga and Mabheka invaded the land and engaged agents to carry out land development on the 52 residential stands.
They were said to have advertised the illegally developed stands for sale through a website with 45 land seekers buying the stands from the two at prices ranging from US$25 000 to US$40 000 each.
The accused persons, as the sellers, signed lease agreements and offer letters in favour of the purchasers.
The purchasers constructed houses on the stands.
When the City of Harare realised that houses had been illegally constructed on its land, it demolished them.
The City of Harare’s Valuations Department established that stand numbers 18991 to 19042 Belvedere-Ridge View, Harare (under either Brickstone Builders and Contractors (Private) Limited, its developer or agents) did not exist in the council system for billing purposes.
As a result, the City of Harare stood to lose 52 residential stands.
Chitanga and Mabheka, who appeared before High Court judge Justice Benjamin Chikowero, denied the fraud charge, arguing that Brickstone Builders and Contractors applied for the piece of land on January 8, 2002.
Chitanga also said she was not a director of the said company then.
She also argued that the directors’ actions before January 8, 2002, could not be attributed to her.
She also denied forging the documents arguing that she never made any misrepresentation to the City of Harare.
Mabheka also denied making misrepresentations concerning the ownership of the piece of land in question.
He argued that he neither forged, produced nor uttered the forged documents to anyone.
He also submitted that he was appointed director by Mnangagwa and Enison Hwingwiri to work on a project.
In acquitting the two, Justice Chikowero said there was no evidence to prove the essential elements of the crime of fraud or any other offence which is a permissible for verdict on a charge of fraud.
“The essential elements of the crime of fraud are trite. It is correct, as pointed out by the State in its written response to the applications for discharge, that Chitanga set out the chain of events that ultimately led to Brickstone Builders and Contractors (Private) Limited selling council land to innocent land seekers,” he said.
“The evidence adduced, so far, particularly through Hwingiri, establishes that Chitanga advised her fellow directors, who included Mabheka, that her late husband had some interest in a piece of land.
“She invited these other directors to collaborate with her in a project to sell this piece of land in the form of individual stands.”
Added Justice Chikowero: “The forged documents, all of which were not produced at the trial, were not recovered from the accused persons by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission investigators.
“All told, this is a classic case where the State, at the end of its case, failed to produce evidence establishing all the essential elements of the charge of fraud.
“In the same vein there is no evidence upon which this court may convict on any permissible verdict.”
