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Crime Reporter
Businessman Mr Tendai Mashamhanda has made a police report against a law firm employee whom he accuses of lying under oath in a case in which he is embroiled in a property dispute with a local company, Bariadie Investments (Pvt) Ltd.

Mr Mashamhanda wants Mr Constantine Chaza, a legal clerk with Mr Tendai Biti’s law firm, prosecuted for lying about the property in question which is in Mt Pleasant, Harare.

The matter was reported at Harare Central Police Station yesterday and is now being investigated under case number IR 091695.

This latest development comes after the High Court recently dismissed with costs, an application by Bariadie Investments to have a deed of transfer of the Mt Pleasant Property that was purchased by Mr Mashamhanda cancelled.

The company had made an opposing application following a wrangle over the immovable property worth US$230 000 which was purchased by Mr Mashamhanda in 2019 measuring 4 377 square metres.

Baradie Investments wanted it to be transferred by the Registrar of Deeds into its name.

The company had argued that the property in question had already been sold to them by the Sheriff for US$270 000 at an auction in 2017.

In the application, the company had cited Harare lawyer Mr Puwayi Chiutsi as the first respondent, Mr Tendai Mashamhanda as the second while the Registrar of Deeds, the Sheriff of the High Court and Mr Elliot Rogers as the third, fourth and fifth respondents.

By then the company was represented by Advocate Thabani Mpofu and Mr Mashamhanda by Mr Taona Wayne Nyamakura.

Mr Tendai Biti by then represented Mr Rogers who is reported to be based in the United Kingdom.

However, in a new twist of events, Mr Mashamhanda alleged that sometime in February 2019, Mr Chaza lied under oath through an affidavit in an urgent chamber application.

“I know the accused person, Constantine Chaza only in connection with legal proceedings before the High Court in which he purportedly acted for and on behalf of one Elliot Rogers who according to him, is based in United Kingdom.

“In terms of the court papers for the said matters, the accused person is employed by Messrs Tendai Biti as a legal clerk.

“On 22 February 2019, the accused person took an oath and signed the affidavit before a commissioner of oaths named Chiedza Shonhiwa.”

“The accused person’s affidavit contains brazen lies which were calculated to mislead the court which are that; transfer of Number 41 Ridgeway North, Harare to the complainant was as a result of a Deed donation; that no capital gains tax was paid to Zimra; that Puwayi Chiutsi and not Jacqueline Sande the conveyancer in the matter, personally attended to the transfer of the property into the complainant’s name.

“And that the transfer into the complainant’s name was done in a record five minutes when in fact and in truth, the processes started from the 25th of January and was only completed on the 8th of February 2019.”

Police are yet to question Mr Chaza in connection with the matter.

In his ruling recently, High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi had said that he had noted that Mr Mashamhanda had chronicled how he came to buy the property in question and had also not connived with Mr Chiutsi.

The property was purchased through an estate agent levied and was paid its commission while Mr Mashamhanda also paid transfer fees and registration cost and all taxes such as capital gains, said the judge.

He added that Mr Mashamhanda, before purchasing the property and taking transfer, had investigated whether there were any encumbrances and found none.