High Court official quits over US$2 million property 'fraud'

A high-ranking civil registry official at Zimbabwe's High Court, Traver Mupita, has resigned following the initiation of disciplinary proceedings by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) concerning his alleged misconduct in a controversial US$2 million deceased estate case.

The case revolves around the estate of June Searson, who passed away in 2007, and involves two local companies, Sayles Corporation (Private) Limited and Samalyn Investments (Private) Limited, which lost their case through a default judgment. The JSC report, obtained by the Zimbabwe Independent, alleges that Mupita and another official, identified as Taga, conspired to manipulate court rolls to favor certain parties.

According to the JSC, the officials are accused of deliberately misplacing documents, leading to the companies' opposing papers being incorrectly filed under an "unopposed" roll. This mismanagement resulted in a default judgment being granted against Sayles Corporation and Samalyn Investments.

The case drew further attention when the police requested permission from the JSC to interrogate Mupita and Taga, highlighting the severity of the allegations. "Information suggests that a case involving deed of transfer 3125/74…was fraudulently set on the unopposed roll by removing notices of opposition by lawyers of the suspect in connivance with employees of the JSC," the police noted in their request.

In a letter to the JSC, the police detailed their intent to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deed of transfer, which led to the default judgment. In response, the JSC confirmed Mupita's resignation, stating that he stepped down on March 4, 2021, amid the ongoing disciplinary process. "We write to advise that Mr. Traver Tendai Mupita is no longer employed at the Judicial Service," part of the JSC's letter stated.

The JSC has indicated that Taga, who remains in their employment, will be made available for questioning by the police.

This controversy escalated further when the JSC acknowledged in a January letter to the affected firms that the handling of the case was improper. Bianca Makwande, head of policy and legal services at the JSC, acknowledged that legal practitioners Warhurst & Matizanadzo had misleadingly claimed the matter was unopposed despite opposing papers being filed on September 27, 2019, by attorney Darryn Williams Blumears.

Blumears had approached the JSC to address the mishandling of the case, asserting that opposing papers were placed incorrectly by High Court officials. Makwande confirmed this assertion, stating, "Your averment that the matter was improperly placed on the unopposed roll is correct because the first and fifth respondents had duly filed their opposing papers."

In the wake of the allegations, Kerry Stone, a partner at Matizanadzo & Warhurst, criticized the JSC's investigation as procedurally unfair and asserted that her firm had not been given a chance to respond to the serious accusations leveled against them. "We cannot be responsible for what goes on in the High Court registry and accused of corrupting High Court officials without any single bit of evidence," Stone stated in a letter to the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

As investigations unfold, this case sheds light on potential corruption within Zimbabwe's judicial system and raises questions about the integrity of court processes. The implications of these allegations could have far-reaching effects on public trust in the judiciary and the legal profession as a whole.