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Harare Mayor, councillors charged over Chiyangwa report

Harare Mayor, councillors charged over Chiyangwa report
by Lebo Nkatazo
21/04/2010 00:00:00

PROSECUTORS charged eight Harare councillors and mayor with “criminal defamation” on Tuesday over allegations of corrupt land deals made against property magnate Phillip Chiyangwa, and contained in a confidential council report leaked to the media in March.

Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and the eight councillors from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party appeared before a Harare magistrate but immediately applied for a discharge, arguing that the alleged crime of “criminal defamation” was committed by the two media organisations who published the stories.

Prosecuting, Chris Mutangadura of the Attorney General’s Office, accused Masunda, 58, of “acting in common purpose” with councillors Warship Dumba, 42, Paula Macharangwanda, 44, Panganayi Charumbira, 40, Herbert Gomba, 34, Job Mbadzi, 40, Musa Macheza, 36, Casper Takura, 42 and Thomas Muzuva to cause the publication of a council report into the city's land transactions between October 2004 and December 2009 before it was tabled before a full council for debate and possible adoption.

Mutangadura says because the contents of the 54-page report compiled by a Special Investigations Committee made up of the eight councillors had not yet been fully debated, its conclusions were therefore untested and are in fact “false in the material particulars”.

The prosecutor told Harare magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti: “The assertions made by accused persons are that Chiyangwa was an unscrupulous businessperson who has abused the City of Harare’s internal procedures in collusion with corrupt city officials.

“The State further alleges that there was a sting in the entire report and a wrongful perception was created that the entire property portfolio under Mr Chiyangwa’s companies of 500 hectares was the city’s land, fraudulently and corruptly acquired by him.

“They alleged that the complainant was a fraudster, a scam artist or is corrupt, a dishonest businessman, a land thief, a scandalous businessperson and shady.

“There was other abusive language in the report, which is conclusive that the complainant is untrustworthy and dishonest.”

Chiyangwa has strongly protested at the conclusions and made a complaint against the Harare City Council, leading to the criminal charges against the councillors.

At the centre of the alleged corruption is a land swap deal between the council and Chiyangwa’s company, Pinnacle Property Holdings, which developed complications in November 2007.



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The Harare City Council approached Pinnacle with a proposal to take over a portion of Stand 389 Derbyshire measuring 25,83 hectares for industrial development, in return for an industrial land equivalent on a 10,23 hectare stand in the Gunhill area.

Pinnacle accepted the council offer and duly transferred ownership of Stand 389 to the city. However, the city of Harare allegedly went back on the deal, stating that the Gunhill property had, by virtue of a ministerial directive, been earmarked for a national project that was underway.

Pinnacle’s lawyers pressed the city for specific performance, claiming breach of contract.

In response, the council substituted the piece of land in Gunhill with other stands dotted around Harare measuring 17,13 hectares.

Pinnacle accepted this arrangement, approved by the then town clerk Nomutsa Chideya, now late.

Prosecutor Mutangadura says contrary to the conclusions of the councillors in their report which was leaked to The Standard and Sunday Times newspapers, there was nothing irregular in the transaction, and at no time had Chiyangwa or his company acted dishonestly.

The case continues with the magistrate expected to rule on the defence lawyers’ application for a discharge.

Labels: HARARE CITY COUNCIL, MDC CORRUPTION, PHILLIP CHIYANGWA, PROPAGANDA

posted by MrK @ 3:26 AM