Ex-minister loses upmarket Harare property

By Charles Laiton | NewsDay |

Former Lands minister Douglas Mombeshora and his wife Millicent have lost their bid to claim co-ownership of a Borrowdale property which was bought by a Harare businessman, through a public auction conducted by the Sheriff of the High Court.

The couple was also slapped with costs of suit on a higher scale.

High Court judge Justice Owen Tagu recently ruled in favour of Tendai Jemwa, who had taken Mombeshora and his wife to court seeking a dismissal of the couple’s application in which they were seeking to be declared co-owners of stand number 80 Quinnington Drive, Borrowdale, Harare.

According to court papers, Jemwa’s application arose after the Mombeshoras approached the court in June this year, seeking an order declaring them co-owners after he locked them out of the disputed property.

However, after the Mombeshoras failed to pursue the matter, Jemwa approached the High Court and sought an order declaring that the former minister and his wife had failed to prosecute their application.

“Whereupon after reading documents filed of record it is ordered that; the court application under case number HC4685/2019 be and is hereby dismissed for want of prosecution. The first and second respondents to pay costs on legal practitioner client scale,” Justice Tagu ruled.

According to Jemwa, the property in question is known as Stand number 110 Quinnington Township of Subdivision K of Borrowdale Estate, commonly referred to as number 80 Quinnington Drive, Borrowdale, Harare.

In his affidavit, Mombeshora had earlier claimed that Jemwa was denying the couple permission to enter, use and enjoy the property despite him (Jemwa) being a 50% shareholder of the property in question which he bought through a public auction conducted by the sheriff. However, after filing the court papers, the Mombeshoras never pursued the matter, prompting Jemwa to approach the court seeking a dismissal of the bid.

“I (Jemwa) filed a notice of opposition together with opposing affidavits on June 19, 2019 as will morefully appear herein as annexure B, the respondents (the Mombeshoras) went on to file an answering affidavit on July 3, 2019 as will morefully appear herein as annexure C,” Jemwa said in his affidavit.

The businessman further said ever since they filed their answering affidavit, the Mombeshoras had not bothered to file heads of argument or set the matter down for hearing as a sign of their intention to have the matter finalised.

“The respondents have clearly failed to pursue their application to date as they are obliged to at law thus to ensure the finalisation of this matter, I hereby apply for dismissal of the respondents’ court application for a declaratory order under HC4685/19 for want of prosecution,” Jemwa submitted.