SHADY land deals which led to the dismissal of the council’s housing director Joel Madzivanyika a few years ago have come back to haunt the local authority after a prospective home-owner fleeced in the scam took the matter to court.
BLESSED MHLANGA STAFF REPORTER
Paridzai Chipiringu has taken the city council to the High Court after the local authority attempted to repossess his residential stand in Mornington Extension claiming it was acquired fraudulently.
In his application filed last December under case number HC3151/13, Chipiringu claimed that he bought the stand from Madzivanyika.
“I received a letter from respondent (council) to the effect that the Mornington stand (number 5932) was being reposessed . . . because there was no record showing that I had purchased the stand from council and that the structure I had erected was illegal and should be removed,” part of the application reads.
Chipiringu claims he bought the stand in 2010 and received a confirmation of receipt of payment from Madzivanyika before he built a cottage after getting council approval. However, town clerk Malvin Dondo, in his opposing affidavit accused Chipiringu of having connived with Madzivanyika to fraudulently acquire the land at the expense of the local authority.
“Madzivanyika’s contract of employment was terminated after it was discovered that he had teamed up with Chipiringu and sold about 21 stands belonging to council to several home-seekers without remitting the money to council coffers,” part of Dondo’s response reads.
Council alleges that the two stole $53 890 from desperate home-seekers through the fraudulent sale of stands. Dondo appealed to the High Court to dismiss the application with costs, saying his council was a victim of Madzivanyika’s fraudulent activities.
