Court reinstates magistrate as trustee in bitter divorce saga

The High Court of Zimbabwe has reinstated magistrate Sandra Mupindu as a trustee of the Shamba Charashika Bvumavaranda Trust, ruling that her removal by her estranged husband, top lawyer Simon Mupindu, was procedurally flawed and legally invalid.

Justice Vivian Ndlovu, delivering judgment at the Harare High Court, declared the 2023 Notarial Deed of Amendment  -  which had removed Sandra and appointed Simon's former intern, Catherine Tatenda Chitopota, as trustee  -  "null, void, and of no effect."

Sandra had approached the court after discovering she had been removed from the trust without her consent or knowledge, alleging that her signature had been forged on documents authorising the amendment. She also accused Simon of selling trust properties without her involvement.

"The removal of the applicant as a trustee was not procedurally done," Justice Ndlovu ruled. "The appointment of the third respondent as a trustee was not procedurally done either. The applicant is entitled to the declaratory order sought."

The court found that Simon's actions violated the original 2014 trust deed, which had named both him and Sandra as trustees and provided that only beneficiaries could authorize changes in trusteeship.

Simon, who has filed for divorce and is now based in Chivhu, claimed the trust was his personal initiative and argued that Sandra's role was merely symbolic. He also accused her of bringing false claims while raising preliminary objections, including lis pendens, misjoinder, and alleged misrepresentations. However, the court dismissed all objections and sided with Sandra.

The case is part of an increasingly acrimonious divorce battle. Simon left Sandra for Chitopota, his former legal intern, with whom he is now entangled in a legal fight after launching an adultery lawsuit against her.

In her application, Sandra accused Simon and Chitopota of attempting to unlawfully appropriate family trust assets to the exclusion of her and their children.

Justice Ndlovu also directed the Registrar of Deeds to amend the trust's official records to reflect Sandra's reinstatement and ordered Simon Mupindu, Chitopota, and Mupindu Legal Practitioners to pay legal costs on a punitive legal practitioner-client scale.

The ruling not only restores Sandra's position within the trust but also sends a strong message about the sanctity of legal procedures in matters involving family property and fiduciary responsibility.