Didymus Mutasa's property attached over Mugabe debt

Former Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa had his two top-of-the-range vehicles and household property attached over legal fees he owes lawyers who represented him in his battles with the revolutionary party.

On February 1 this year, the Sheriff unsuccessfully attempted to attach property at the politician's Umwinsdale house after the workers at the residence locked up the gates and doors.

This week, the Sheriff succeeded in attaching the property in the presence of Mutasa.

The Sheriff will today remove the attached assets from 13D 16 Chishawasha Road in Umwinsdale.

Two SUVs, a Land Rover Discovery and a Range Rover Sport, will be driven away together with an assortment of household goods.

Household goods under attachment include: three sets of leather sofas, dining table and eight chairs, two fridges, a coffee table and stools, two water tanks, microwave, carpets, television stands, Kipor generator, DSTV decoder, DVD player and two flower pots.

Last year, the High Court ordered Mutasa to pay Nyakutombwa Mugabe Legal Counsel outstanding legal fees to the tune of $26 900.

Efforts to make him pay the debt hit a brick wall and the lawyers this month instructed the Sheriff to attach the property.

Mutasa together with Rugare Gumbo and Temba Mliswa, were expelled from Zanu-PF in 2015 and engaged the services of Nyakutombwa Mugabe Legal Counsel to fight the expulsion.

After filing several applications, the trio chickened out and dropped the challenge, but the lawyers billed them $26 900 for the work done.

Gumbo and Mliswa are contesting the claim and their matter is yet to be heard at the High Court.

In coming up with the bill, the law firm charged the trio for all opted services rendered and for all court attendances in terms of the Law Society of Zimbabwe General Tariff of 2011.

No guarantee of success was given nor was failure of the cases a basis for non-payment of the due fees, the lawyers argued.

In one of the cases in which Mutasa and Gumbo were contesting expulsion at the High Court, the court ordered them to pay legal costs incurred by Zanu-PF and President Mugabe in defending the aborted court application.