A lawyer for a Harare property developer has appeared in court on allegations of representing the developer without a valid practising certificate.
Tafadzwa Ngoro is alleged to have appeared on behalf of Capevalley Properties at Norton Police Station in November last year despite him not being registered with the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ).
LSZ is the sole regulatory board for legal practitioners in the country.
Through his lawyer Tafadzwa Hungwe, Ngoro denied the charges when he appeared before Norton magistrate Rutendo Trish Machingura charged with practising without a valid certificate.
Ngoro told the court that he never appeared on behalf of Capevalley Properties on November 21, 2022 as alleged by the state.
He said the charges were manufactured as a result of a long-standing dispute between his employer, Capevalley, and the complainants.
Prosecutor Nyasha Nyaumwe alleged that on November 21, 2022, Ngoro availed himself at Norton Urban police station at about 2pm in the company of Grace Chanakira and Primrose Chakuchichi.
He represented them as their legal practitioner and endorsed his signature on warned and cautioned statements, which were recorded for the two women.
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Ngoro allegedly failed to produce his practising certificate upon request by the member-in-charge crime Assistant Inspector Gavi.
As such, the accused acted unlawfully by representing clients while he was not registered as required by the Legal Practitioner’s Act.
However, Hungwe said his client did not hold himself out or pretended as a legal practitioner on the numerous occasions that he was invited to or availed himself at Norton Police Station regarding the said disputes.
“He will deny ever preparing or appending his signature to any legal document or instrument that required a legal practitioner as contemplated by the Legal Practitioners Act on the day in question and will state that these allegations are poorly fabricated in order to further the live disputes that are brewing between his employer and the informants in numerous courts,” argued Hungwe.
He will pray that he be found not guilty and acquitted.
Machingura remanded the case to Tuesday.
