The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa Post Correspondent
THE widow of the late Mutare transport mogul, Hubert Masara, of Masara Transport has, together with her son, been hauled before the courts on allegations of fraudulently disposing of assets of the deceased’s estate thereby depriving other beneficiaries of their entitlements.
Priscilla Masara (63) and her son, Kudzai Masara (29), are alleged to have contravened Section 10 (2) of the Deceased Family Maintenance Act, Chapter 6:03 otherwise known as depriving the rights of other beneficiaries to benefit in the deceased estate.
She is also facing a separate charge of contempt of court as defined in Section 182 (2) (e) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23. The duo was not asked to plead to the charges when they appeared before Mutare magistrate Ms Notebulgar Muchineripi on Wednesday.
Ms Natsai Nyamwanza represented the suspects.
The court heard that following the death of Hubert Masara on July 11, 2019, the complainant, Patience Masara, was appointed as the executor of the estate.
Patience is Priscilla’s stepdaughter.
The State represented by Ms Perseverance Musukuto alleged that sometime in November, Priscilla and Kudzai took a haulage truck (ADC 3228) from the company behind the executor’s back and sold it to Prosper Mutowobunyu for US$7 000.
They converted the money to their own use, thereby depriving the other beneficiaries.
“On December 5, Patience noticed that the truck was missing from Masara Transport and reported the matter to the police. Investigations led to the arrest of the pair and the recovery of the haulage truck,” said Ms Musukuto.
The recovered truck is currently being held at Rhodesville Police Station, Greendale, Harare, as an exhibit.
The State further alleged that Priscilla, who had previously been barred by the High Court from accessing and operating Masara Transport online banking platforms, went ahead and made payments to several bank accounts including a bank transfer to her personal account. “The value involved in this particular charge was RTGS$35 035 and nothing was recovered. Between September 27, and October 15, Priscilla accessed Masara Transport online banking and made payments in contravention of a court order that bars her from doing so,” said Ms Musukuto.
The duo was remanded to January 29, 2020 for trial. Bail was set at $200 and were both advised to keep residing at their given addresses and not to interfere with State witnesses.
