THE late Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Joel Biggie Matiza’s estate is up in flames as it emerged this week that a business partner is allegedly refusing to honour a US$2 million payment after a construction deal.
Matiza, who held several ministerial posts, di3d on January 22, 2021 at St Annes Hospital in Harare after battling COVID-19.
He was declared a national hero and was buri3d at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
He was also an internationally-acclaimed architect, who had vast construction businesses across the globe.
His wife, Lillian, di3d two years later.
However, the chief executive officer at Commerce Veritas (Pvt) Limited, Martin Mutenda, whose company specialises in civil engineering, yesterday appeared in court accused of defrauding Lillian of US$2 million.
The complainant in the matter is the late couple’s son, Batsirai (26), who was appointed the executor of his mother’s estate after she had passed on.
Mutenda (55), from Hyde Park in Harare, was remanded in custody to Monday for his bail application by Harare regional magistrate Donald Ndirowei.
The investigating officer, Ngonidzashe Chimuto, who appeared in court to help the prosecution oppose Mutenda’s bail application, said the accused had a permanent residence in South Africa.
“The police have been looking for the @ccused person since March and we were told that he was in South Africa, where he owns another house,” Chimuto said.
He said the suspect was arrested on April 30 at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport as he came to Zimbabwe.
“We were told by the police officers who arrested him at the airport that he had been arrested while coming from South Africa. We only learned that the accused was in Zimbabwe after investigations were done prior to his court appearance,” he said.
“He is also likely to tamper with evidence because he is the secretary of the company, hence being the sole custodian of all the paperwork and bank accounts.”
Prosecutor Mercy Masamvi told the court that sometime in June 2022, the @ccused person entered into a construction business partnership with Lillian.
In the agreement, the @ccused person reportedly misrepresented to Lillian that herself, Jorome Leroy and Taurai Negonde, would become directors of the company, with the @ccused being positioned as the company secretary.
Mutenda allegedly told Lillian that she would be given a payment of US$2 million at the completion of the construction project.
The State revealed that in exchange for the @ccused person’s offer, Lillian would inject road equipment namely a pneumatic roller, paver, a roller and office furniture which she took from her company called Studio Arts (Pvt) Limited.
The court heard that Lillian duly supplied the equipment as part of the deal.
On November 25 last year, Lillian passed on, which led to his son, Batsirai, to be duly appointed as the executor of his late mother’s estate.
It is further alleged that in December 2023, Batsirai approached Mutenda requesting him to transfer the money due to his late mother, Lillian, to the Biggie Joel Trust, where the complainant and his other relatives are beneficiaries, but the @ccused refused.
Investigations revealed that the accused person had misrepresented the structure of the company and payment of the US$2 million.
Source NewsDay
