NUST lecturer accused of forgery

A LECTURER in the Applied Chemistry department at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) appeared in court for allegedly forging a signature of Triniac Investments  partner in the power of Attorney documents which was filed at the Bulawayo High Court.

The lecturer Vision Sithole who lives in Bulawayo City centre was roped into the Triniac Investment mine dispute between the complainants Nqobile Khumalo and his wife Franscisca Mufambi and Israeal Reoven Meyer Dray and Avi Habot in which the latter two are allegedly to have fraudulently given mine shares to Sports and Arts Minister Andrew Langa.

Khumalo is accusing Sithole of masquerading as a lawyer advocate prompting him to instruct him (Sithole) to file a notice of opposition at the High Court following an order which was issued against Khumalo barring him from visiting or interfering with the mine activities.

Sithole represented by a lawyer Mlweliwenkululeko Ncube appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Charity Maphosa charged with forgery. He pleaded not guilty to the charge indicating that Khumalo might have faked the allegations after he lost a High Court case and he did that out of desperation.

The state represented by Kudakwashe Jaravaza yesterday called Khumalo to testify in the case. Khumalo said he engaged Sithole after he received a provisional Court Order which barred him from visiting the Filabusi mine in which he was a partner with Meyer Dray and Habot. He said he wanted to oppose the order and when he went to the Mining Commissioner Lindiwe Sobantu Thusi.

"The order was given on December 24, 2011," said Khumalo. "When I went to the mining commissioner on December 29, 2011, I met Vision and the mining commissioner told me that he was a lawyer who can assist me in my case. He (Sithole) confirmed he was a lawyer advocate. He also said he is a lecturer at Nust and that made me believe in him. He however did not produce any document to show he is a lawyer."

He also said he met Sithole on the following day at Nust gate where they proceeded to the mining Commissioner's house in Hillside.

"He promised to assist me file the opposition application to the provisional order," said Khumalo. "He later made a notice of opposition and later a withdrawal notice without my knowledge. I had to look for another lawyer (Norman Mugiya) after I noticed that he had done that. The lawyer went to the High court to ask for my file and that is when he discovered that he (Sithole) had filed an opposition notice and later filed a notice of withdrawal of the case."

"When made me to look for another lawyer was that when I asked him (Sithole) about the issue he told me that he had been advised by Langa not to represent me since Langa was an interested party in taking over the company.

"The mining commissioner had advised me that Sithole would assist me but she will pay for my legal representation," he said.  "When I checked the record at the High court I also discovered that there was power of attorney document which was fraudulently signed deposited in the file and the signature was not mine."

The lawyer said it was clear that Khumalo was fabricating the story because he had lost a High Court case.

The lawyer Ncube presented a mine partnership agreement which Khumalo had signed and the power of attorney document which was purportedly signed by him and asked him to say if the signatures were similar or not. Khumalo said they were different disputing that the one of the power of attorney was not his.

Ncube applied to the court to order the two documents to be sent to the handwriting experts to examine if the signatures were the same. Jaravaza said he will have to respond to the application before the documents are taken for examination.

Allegations against Sithole were that sometime in December 2011 Khumalo was served with the High Court Provisional Order HC3542/2011 dated December 13.

He went to Bulawayo to look for a lawyer to file opposition notice. He visited the Mining Commissioner Thusi at Mhlahlandlela Complex and he was introduced to Sithole who was identified as an advocate who can assist him in the application.

Sithole later allegedly filed the notice of opposition on January 13, 2012 before he later filed a withdrawal notice without his (Khumalo) knowledge.

The withdrawal notice led Khumalo to report the matter to the police and investigations made discovered that Sithole was not even a lawyer and he was arrested.  Khumalo also checked his records and discovered that Sithole had allegedly deposited a forged power of attorney document which was granting him the authority to deal with the mine issue even without consulting him (Khumalo). The alleged power of attorney document had a forged signature of Khumalo.