The Harare magistrates court has withdrawn fraud charges against Harare deputy mayor Rosemary Muronda and former Harare South MP Shadreck Mashayamombe following allegations that they illegally sold non-existent council land in Newlands,
Harare magistrate Jessie Kufa said prosecutors withdrew the case after concluding there was insufficient proof to proceed.
The two were arrested in January this year after the complainant, Mavis Java, reported them to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) over allegations of fraud involving council land.
They were arrested alongside mayor Jacob Mafume, who was released on the same day under unclear circumstances with ZACC stating later that they had only taken him in for questioning.
Java, the owner of property development company Maja Logistics, has been involved in several land deals with the Harare City Council.
The state’s case was that between April and June 2025, Muronda and Mashayamombe approached Java, claiming they could facilitate the allocation of residential stands in Newlands. It was alleged that Java paid the duo US$`50 000 each for the stands.
However, investigations later revealed that the land had already been allocated to other parties, prejudicing the complainant of US`$100 000. Although Java eventually withdrew the charges following the arrests, the court was subsequently informed that the land had been allocated to five companies linked to Mafume, Mashayamombe, and Muronda, as well as firms linked to Emmerson Mnangagwa Jnr.
The legal complications had begun when Local Government minister Daniel Garwe wrote to the council ordering that the land be swapped and given to Logara Properties, despite a court order securing the land for the five initial companies.
- In Full: Nineteenth post-cabinet press briefing: July 05, 2022
- Fresh land invasions hit Whitecliff
- State withdraw charges against businessman
- Delta Beverages loses Supreme Court appeal
Keep Reading
Garwe later withdrew his letter, and the lease agreements have since been signed in respect of the respective companies.
Citing a lack of evidence, the State officially withdrew its charges against the duo today.
Mashayamombe and Muronda were represented by lawyers Devoted Ngagano and Barnabus Kazembe.
