HARARE – Well-known cleric and businessman Shingi Munyeza and his wife Wilma have been ordered to pay former Seed Co public relations manager Marjorie Mutemererwa more than US$100 000, being a loan advanced to the couple early this year.
The ruling by Justice David Mangota on Monday comes after Ms Mutemererwa dragged the pastor to the High Court seeking to recover her money. The money was part of a severance package she received from her previous employer, SeedCo.
Ms Mutemererwa sought an order for payment of US$85 000, plus US$15 000 interest amounting to US$100 000.
The court not only ordered the US$100 000 payment, but also interest at the rate prescribed by the courts from February 1 to the date the Munyezas finally pay.
Ms Mutemererwa feels that justice has prevailed at last. But she still has no kind words for the couple.
Mr Munyeza persuaded Ms Mutemererwa to invest the money, promising to return US$100,000 by the end of January, but he never returned the money.
In the suit, Ms Mutemererwa said that January 21 Mr Munyeza called her urgently requesting for money to address an emergency. Ms Mutemererwa and the Munyezas are neighbours in Borrowdale Brooke and were reasonably friendly, so she listened.
The following day Mr Munyeza, in the company of his wife Wilma, visited Ms Mutemererwa at her Borrowdale Brooke home to finalise the deal.
After the visit on January 22, the following day Ms Mutemerewa transferred money to Mr Munyeza’s account in Botswana.
She said she gave Mr Munyeza the money because they knew each other well and worked together on community issues, and she had confirmed with Mrs Wilma Munyeza the need for urgent assistance.
Munyeza had agreed and promised to pay back the money with a generous interest of US$15 000, meaning a total of US$100 000 by 31 January this year.
However, Munyeza failed to pay back when the money was due. Almost a month went by with the two communicating back and forth over payment. Then on February 27, Munyeza promised to pay back the following day – 28 February – but again he failed to do so.
Upset that her severance package was now at risk of being lost in a bad debt, Ms Mutemererwa reported Mr Munyeza to the police, leading to his arrest but there was no criminal matter in the failed deal so Ms Mutemererwa then took the matter to the High Court in a civil case to recover her money. – Herald
