Chitown councillor subdivides and sells off Amos M...

Chitown councillor subdivides and sells off Amos Midzi estate farm

Zim Now Correspondent

Ward 11, Seke Councillor, Patson Chipunza, who is facing fraud allegations involving US$29 000 after he allegedly defrauded a land developer, has been taken to court.

Chipunza, 39, who appeared before magistrate Caroline Matanga at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts and was remanded in custody.

The complainant in this matter is Philip Chapfunga, a land developer.

The State alleges that on December 30, 2002, the then Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement allocated Subdivision 1 of Earling Farm, Seke measuring 347.50 hectares to the late Amos Bernard Muvengwa Midzi.

The court heard that when Midzi died, the farm was never reallocated to anyone and it remained as part of Amos Bernard Muvengwa Midzi’s Estate.

It is alleged that sometime in December 2022, without authority from the Ministry of Lands, Chipunza subdivided Subdivision 1 of Earling farm and assigned Templeton Chadyiwa to advertise the land.

In January 2023, Chapfunga saw the advert which was placed by Chadyiwa in a WhatsApp group and became interested in buying the plot. He approached him and was then referred to Chipunza.

The State alleges that Chipunza allegedly introduced himself as the village head of the area and made a misrepresentation that he was the owner of the advertised land, measuring 63 hectares.

Chapfunga inspected the area and agreed to buy the piece of land, for which Chipunza charged US$29 000.

Chapfunga made an initial deposit of US$5 000 on January 31 last year and paid the balance in the form of a Nissan Navara which they both valued at US$24 000.

The court heard that after signing the agreement of sale, Chapfunga went to invest US$41 000 on the farm by drilling boreholes, constructing spray races, installing cattle neck clamps, fencing 63 hectares of land, and purchasing bricks to construct a farmhouse.

On June 17, 2023, Chido Makazhu, the co-executor of the Estate for the late Amos Midzi visited the farm and discovered that part of the farm was subdivided by Chipunza and sold to Chapfunga.

The matter was reported to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and investigations led to the arrest of the accused person.