Sheriff raids Cuthbert Dube's home as $281k debt hangs over his head

ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube, had personal property worth $281,000 attached over a debt in which he offered himself as guarantor in a matter where the football body owes Pandhari Lodge hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The football body enjoyed the hospitality facilities and services at Pandhari Lodge in Harare between February 2 and September 30, 2013, but did not settle the debt.

Dube then undertook to settle the debt, hence his citation in court proceedings as a defendant.

The sheriff of Zimbabwe Mcdoff Madhega, yesterday morning stormed Dube's Mount Pleasant house with a fleet of trucks to ferry movable property, but removal was temporarily halted after Dube's lawyers sought extension of repayment period by 10 days.

There was drama at Number 7 Crighton Road as the security guards at Dube's house locked up the gate to bar the sheriff from entering.

Madhega's team then parked a seven-tonne truck in front of the gate to make sure no vehicles or any other property came out of the premises.

The sheriff called a locksmith to assist his team to forcibly break into the yard, but a woman believed to be Dube's wife arrived with the news of the lawyers' request.

Madhega and his two officers entered the premises to meet Dube who had locked himself inside to prevent the removal of the property.

They spent more than an hour while inside before coming out to call off the mission. The property attached include five vehicles:

Toyota Land Cruiser AAD 1368
Land Rover Discovery AAQ 3270
Mercedes Benz S600 ACO 0649
Mercedes Benz ML AAC 1979
Mini Cooper ACM 2807.

The sheriff also attached household property including:

5 x refrigerators
5 x plasma television sets
6x sets of leather sofas
1x black massaging chair
kitchen tables and chairs
dish washers
microwaves and many others.

The property was attached on the strength of a court order issued by Justice Lavender Makoni on January 21 this year.

The order reads:

"It is ordered that the application for summary judgment be and is hereby granted. The respondents (Zifa and Dr Dube) shall pay to the applicant (Pandhari Lodge) jointly or severally the one paying the other, to be absolved the sum of $268,435,57 together with interest at the prescribed rate of 5 percent per annum from the date of summons (October 24, 2013) to the date of full and final payment..."

Our Harare Bureau had sight of a copy of the letter from Scanlen and Holderness that sought the postponement of the removal of property.

The lawyers stated that Dube had negotiated with Pandhari Lodge for an extension of the period in which money should be raised to clear the debt.

"The debtor has negotiated for a longer period of payment with the creditor. Accordingly, we have instructions to request that you (sheriff) postpone removal of the goods attached for a period of 10 days to enable the debtor to settle, failing which you may proceed with removal," reads part of the letter.

Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze, also appeared at Dube's house yesterday in a Nissan Bluebird Sylphy, but refused to talk to the media.

Dube, through his security team, also refused to entertain the journalists preferring to talk on the phone but he was unreachable.