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Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
A local businessman allegedly forged a deceased person’s signature in a bid to fraudulently sell her property worth $2 million. Phillipus Fourie Naude, the director of Tru-Bar (Pvt) Limited allegedly forged June Mclanclan’s signature on a fake agreement of sale and power of attorney purporting that he had bought the said property from the now deceased when she was still alive. Naude yesterday appeared before Mr Tendai Mahwe charged with fraud. He was granted $100 bail with the State’s consent coupled with some conditions. He was ordered to reside at his Borrowdale house, surrender his passport and not to interfere with witnesses until the matter is finalised. The complainant is the director at Couch Grass (Pvt) Limited, who is now the rightful owner of the property.

Prosecutor Mrs Idah Mateke-Maromo alleged that the late Mclanclan was the registered owner of the property located at 15 St Michael Lane in Borrowdale, measuring 6 8288 hectares.

In her will, she appointed her nephews Timothy James and Simon David Searson as beneficiaries of the estate.

The two subsequently inherited the estate following Mclanclan’s death and were granted letters of administration of the estate by the Master of High Court on January 28, 2008. It is alleged that on August 22 2012, Timothy and Simon sold the property to Couch Grass for $2 million through Veritas Executors (Pvt) Limited. Naude, who knew of the property sale then engaged his agent identified as Stan Mutizira and instructed him to look for a buyer for the same property.

It is the State’s case that Mutizira approached one Michael Mahachi offering the same property for sale.

Mutizira had documents which claimed that Naude had bought the property from the late Mclanclan, the court heard. However, Mahachi contacted Couch Grass for verification and he was told that the property was not on sale.

This prompted Couch Grass to confront Naude, who then produced the fake documents purporting that he had bought the property.