The ManicaPost
Post Reporter
A LOCAL church bishop who runs an executor services company is up for fraud after he allegedly filed forged waiver security forms before the Mutare High Court, resulting in a Chikanga family losing their late father’s house.
Jeremiah Matenhese (60) who runs Polka Executor Services was arrested together with a local Commissioner of Oaths, Kingstone Pukutayi Munjari (66), after the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) swoop on them.
Matenhese and Munjari appeared in court last week on Friday.
They are being charged with fraud as defined in Section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.The two were remanded out of custody to March 30 on $80 000 bail each.
Ms Perseverance Makala presided over the case, while Mr Tom Nyatsuro prosecuted. Allegations were that on February 28, 2008, Phineas Muchafuruka died and left his children, Talent, Artwell, Emmanuel, Shyline, Patricia and Sandra as beneficiaries of his estate.
The estate was registered with the Master of High Court under DRME 102/18.
“An edict meeting was held on August 8, 2018 at the Master of the High Court in Mutare. Present in the meeting were four of the beneficiaries of the late Phineas Muchafuruka’s estate, namely Emmanuel, Sandra, Patricia, Shyline and their aunt, Mercy Muchafuruka.
“In the meeting, Sandra was nominated and recommended by the parties present to be the executor of the estate. On March 15, 2019, Sandra caused another edict meeting at the Master of the High Court, Mutare, where Artwell nominated Matenhese to be the new executor of the estate in the absence of his siblings.
“In the meeting, Artwell forged a general power of attorney signed to his name, purporting that the document had been signed by the other absent beneficiaries, giving him a proxy to act on behalf of the other children. The other children were not aware of this meeting and neither did they sign any general power of attorney to nominate Artwell as their proxy,” said Mr Nyatsuro.
The State further alleged that after Matenhese was nominated as the new executioner of the estate, he went on to file the forged waiver of security forms with the Master of the High Court, purporting that the documents were signed by the beneficiaries.
This again is alleged to have been done without the knowledge of Emmanuel, Talent, Shyline and Patricia as they never signed any waiver of security documents.
Matenhese is alleged to have made a request to the Master of the High Court seeking for consent to sell the estate’s asset, which is a house in Chikanga.
In his request, he attached a document which was commissioned by Munjari.
“The document was purporting that all the beneficiaries had consented to sell the house. The document had forged signatures against the names of Emmanuel, Shyline, Talent and Patricia, despite them having never signed it or appeared before the Commissioner of Oaths to give consent,” said Mr Nyatsuro.
“The document is purported to have been signed by the beneficiaries. However, Patricia who also had her signature forged, was in South Africa where she was employed as a teacher, while Shyline was a minor aged 15, hence she could not have signed any legally binding document,” he said.
Mr Nyatsuro said the fraudulent document was then used by Matenhese to request for the consent of the Master of the High Court to sell the property.
The request was granted, leading to disposal of the Chikanga house.
Matenhese sold the house to Ernest Porusingazi for $300 000 on October 23, 2019.
As a result of the accused persons’ actions, the complainant and his other siblings were prejudiced of their shelter and a share of their estate.
Artwell is on the run as the police are looking for him in connection with the matter.
