Suspects in Mutumbuka case overlooked consolidated certificate – Registrar
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GARIKAI MAFIRAKUREVA
HARARE – The suspects who forged the title deed to Dzingai Mutumbuka’s US$600 000 Chispite home in Harare made a fatal mistake by not realising that the property consisted of two separate consolidated stands, the Registrar of Deeds Companies & Intellectual Property Office, Absalom Magwere has said.
As a result the suspects forged a deed for just one of the two stands living out the other, Magwere told Harare Magistrate Ethel Chichera during a the trial of Propser Bizwek (43) and Tatenda Shaft Wakatama (44) on Tuesday this week.
Magwere said that former Education Minister, Mutumbuka initially bought Stand 184 Rolf Valley which is where the house is and then he bought an adjacent stand number 183 Rolf valley and brought the two together and got a consolidated certificate for the two.
However, the suspects just dealt with a title for stand 184 and not Stand number 183 or the certificate of consolidation said the registrar. This means they only owned one stand and yet the property is consolidated.
This, argued the registrar is conclusive evidence that the property belongs to Mutumbuka.
Magwere also told the magistrate that title deed was digitally forged by the suspects.
The duo is suspected to have worked with officials from the Deeds Registry. On June 22, 2021, the two, together with accomplices Jonah Ngome, Taurai Makata and Peter Chigayo who are still at large forged title deeds of house number 90, Harare Drive, Chisipite in Harare which is registered in Mutumbuka’s name to be in Ngome’s name.
A fortnight ago, Lynna Mlambo, a supervisor at the deeds office who is currently on suspension turned hostile and reversed her statement that she was the one who released the title deed to the suspects.