A Mutare woman who fraudulently sold a house to sungura musician and businessman Brian Samaita has been jailed for five years.
Samaita lost US$90 000 to Seclean Kadawu (42) and an accomplice Harare lawyer Shepherd Makonyere, now late, who illegally sold him a property in Mutare’s Boarderville suburb which belonged to another person.
Kadawu was charged with fraud as defined in Section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.
Mutare magistrate Richard Ramaboea sentenced Kadawu five years in prison, but she will serve four and half years after six months were suspended on condition of good behaviour for the next five years.
The court heard that sometime between 2017 and 2018 Kadawu and Makonyere connived to sell the property at No 7061 Wentwood Drive, Boarderville to Samaita, knowing that Kadawu’s ex-husband Tawanda Jeffery Nyamudeza had sold it to Alfred Zivanai Mukarakate.
Kadawu was married to Nyamudeza from 2001 to 2013.
It was during the subsistence of their marriage that Kadawu and Nyamudeza sold their house Muvirimi-Mukarakate.
In 2023, Kadawu divorced Nyamudeza and during the divorce proceedings she was legally represented by Makonyere.
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Makonyere knew that the property in question was already sold and no longer belonged to Kadawu or her former husband.
Kadawu and Makonyere misrepresented to Samaita that the house was being sold because the parties were divorcing and the house belonged to Kadawu.
Samaita paid a total sum of US$90 000, but he became suspicious when the pair failed to give him title deeds of the property.
Kadawu and Makonyere knew that the title deeds were held by the Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company which funded the purchase of the house by Muvirimi-Mukarakate.
Samaita did not get the house or recover his money as a result of the misrepresentation and deceit.
Kadawu and Makonyere had no right to deceive and misrepresent Runganga.
The case was dealt with initially by prosecutor Brian Goto, before Nyasha Gerald Mukonyora took over after closing of the state case.
Makonyere died before commencement of the defence case.
