A Sanyati woman, whose father died in 2000 when she was six, has reclaimed his property 24 years after the property was seized by ‘strangers’ who were carrying out a fraudulent change operation. Home documents.
Jennifer Limokani has approached the High Court seeking to quash a fraudulent sale agreement for a house in Chigoto allegedly signed by her mother in 2011.
But the mother died in 2009.
In her application to the civil court, Limokani cited the estate of the late Inara Mugoza, Kaskula Mudhala, the Tshigutu Municipal Housing Director and the Chief Justice of the High Court as defendants.
Mugoza is Mudala’s late wife who allegedly bought the house from Limokani’s mother.
According to court papers, Limokani went to court seeking to have the sale agreement dated March 11, 2011 declared null and void. It also sought to declare the rightful owner of property rights and evacuate the property of the miscreants and all those claiming the occupation.
Limukani stated in her founding affidavit that she was born on October 20, 1994 to the late David Webo Limukani and the late Evelyn Pang. Her parents were traditionally married and she is the only surviving child.
Her parents obtained the house which was registered in her father’s name through assignment at the Chigoto Municipal Housing Director’s Office.
Her father died on October 9, 2000 and his property was not immediately registered before the family moved to their country house in Sanyati in 2008. The family moved when she was still a 14-year-old minor, but she heard about the house in Chigoto.
Her mother became seriously ill and died on April 17, 2009, but her estate was not immediately registered.
In 2017, Limokani went to register her father’s property in Chigoto with some relatives and found Madala, who was claiming ownership of the house, occupying the property. Mudala claimed that his late wife Muguza bought the house from Pang in 2011.
There were also documents in the housing director’s office indicating that there was a sale agreement concluded on 7 March 2011, while the house was still registered in the name of Limokani’s father.
Mudhala also had a court order dated November 11, 2011 purporting to require the property to be transferred from Pang to Muguza. However, Limokani said all the documents were forged and her father’s estate was registered in 2020 and he was appointed executor before it was made public.
However, Mudhala, a director at the Venice mine in Kadoma, said he bought the disputed property through legal practitioners Mangwana & Co.
He also said that a deed of assignment had been signed between Muguza and Pang, adding that they had moved into the house before the change of ownership. He also noted that he was at work when the deal took place, adding that Pang wanted extra money but refused to pay it.
An intervention stated that as a result of the impasse, Pang refused to sign the documents facilitating the transfer and an application to compel the transfer was filed with the district court that issued the order.
He said that he obtained an eviction order in 2019, but the order was postponed to ensure the validity of the forced transfer order. He also stated that the matter had not been finalized and that he had received bills from the council in Limokani’s name.
However, when deciding the matter, High Court Judge Fatima Chakabambo Maxwell said she needed to determine whether Pang died in 2009 or not.
Pang’s death certificate was produced as evidence, and indicated the date of death as April 17, 2009.
“It is common for a death certificate to be an official document certifying a person’s death. It is issued by the Registrar General of Births and Deaths at the Ministry of the Interior.
“It is trite that there should be a presumption of the authenticity of all official documents issued by government officials in the performance of their duties. Since the presumption is irrefutable, official documents are considered valid until proven otherwise.
However, he challenged the entry of date of death on the grounds that it was made by Limokani, but he did not provide counter-documentation proving the existence of Evelyn Pang after 17 April 2009.
Judge Maxwell said she also needed to determine whether Pang had entered into a sales agreement with Muguza in 2011.
“After it emerged that Evelyn Pang died on 17 April 2009, it follows that she did not enter into a sales agreement in 2011. In any event, even if she had been alive and signed the agreement, the agreement was presented as a document in my view. “It may be null and void,” the judge ruled, noting that Pang was not the registered owner of the property but rather her husband.
“Furthermore, the validity of the court order relied upon by the second accused is questionable. The copy of his set of documents indicates that it was a default order of W Tiyatara on 10 November 2011.”
“It does not appear to be the Chief Justice. It does not appear whether any party has appeared or not. It appears to be an order issued after perusal of documents only because it does not reflect the hearing of any party.
“The draft order has been signed and sealed. The date of the seal is unclear. There is the signature of the Chief Justice. The two documents do not contain the same information.
“Their authenticity is therefore questionable. It is not clear whether it was W. Tiatara who signed the draft order in the plaintiff’s batch of documents. The proceedings are alleged to have taken place in 2011, i.e. two years after the death of Evelyn Pang. I find that the deed of assignment is null and void.”
Judge Maxwell granted the declaratory order in favor of Limokani, who was also declared the sole owner of the rights and interests in the property, and was given 10 days to vacate the property. Newsday
