News / Local
Byo lawyer jailed for defrauding a home seeker (72)
18 Aug 2012 at 03:06hrs | Views
A 32-year-old lawyer from Bulawayo, Masimba Munjanja has been jailed for five years for defrauding a 72-year-old home seeker of 30 000 rand.
Munjanja, of Number 11 Redstone Drive, Riverside, who was convicted last week, was sentenced yesterday by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Owen Tagu. A former partner at Munjanja and Associates, a law firm whose offices are at Zimdef Building in the city, Munjanja came to court dressed in prison garb and was in leg irons.
He would, however, serve an effective one year after the magistrate suspended two years on condition that he does not within five years commit a similar offence.
Another two years were suspended on condition that he restitutes the complainant $800, being part of the $1 800 he had charged the complainant for change of ownership of the house.
Munjanja looked distraught when the sentence was pronounced to him and for a moment remained in the dock as if he was lost.
Munjanja's lawyer, Mr Tanaka Muganyi of Dube-Banda, Nzarayapenga and Partners had appealed to the court for a non-custodial sentence, saying his client had already been punished by being convicted and therefore a prison term would be double punishment.
Mr Muganyi had said his client was a legal practitioner who was already de-registered and the court should take into cognisance the fact that the Law Society of Zimbabwe would also summon him for a hearing, meaning he was already paying for his sins.
"Conviction is punishment on its own and he has already lost dignity as a professional due to the publicity this case has attracted. It is now the duty of the court to reform him by passing a non-custodial sentence," said Mr Muganyi.
In response, Mr Goodluck Katenaire for the State had said being a legal practitioner on its own was aggravating because the complainant, Ms Angie Ngwenya, had put her trust in the fact that she was dealing with a legal practitioner.
Mr Katenaire said there was nothing mitigatory in the fact that Munjanja would be summoned by the LSZ because he was aware of the consequences when he committed the offence.
He said Munjanja decided to put the name of the profession into disrepute and this was aggravating.
He had said the court should only consider a non-custodial sentence when it is satisfied that the accused would be able to pay restitution together with interest.
Ms Ngwenya (72) of 6947 Pumula North bought a house in Entumbane from one Madison Banda on 20 March 2008.
Mr Banda took her to Munjanja's office where she paid 30 000 rand cash towards purchase of the house.
Munjanja drafted an agreement of sale and told the complainant that the title deeds would be processed for her.
Ms Ngwenya went to Munjanja's office on a later date to check on the progress in the processing of the sale of the house and was told that she would occupy it once the tenants had moved out.
She kept checking but was told that the tenants had been arrested for refusing to vacate the house and would appear in court on 14 May.
On 14 May, Munjanja told the woman that the magistrate dealing with the case was ill and the case had been remanded to 21 May.
Ms Ngwenya went back on 22 May and Munjanja told her that the Messenger of Court had been sent to evict the tenants and offered her keys to the house.She became suspicious and went to the city council offices to inquire on the status of the house and discovered that it belonged to Fraser Mwansa who died in 1987 and was Mr Banda's cousin.
When she went back to Munjanja he told her that the house had complications and could not be successfully sold.
Munjanja repaid $1 000 and told her to look for another house to buy but she refused and demanded her money back.
Munjanja failed to raise the balance resulting in Ms Ngwenya reporting the matter to the police.
Investigations revealed that the house was not registered as a deceased estate and Munjanja as a legal practitioner was supposed to advise the prospective buyer that the house could not be successfully sold and that there was a real risk that she could be prejudiced.
He instead went on to accept cash for the purchase of the same house.
Munjanja was recently de-registered as a lawyer after he allegedly committed several other cases involving abuse of trust funds and failure to properly represent clients.
Source - Court