A FIERCE battle for property is looming between Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and his estranged wife Marry after he unilaterally delivered some assets to her as a divorce settlement without the parties reaching an agreement.
BRIDGET MANANAVIRE
In a “consolidated list of assets for distribution for the parties” submitted by Chiwenga to Marry’s lawyers, the Vice-President omitted assets like houses, housing stands, farms and business premises the couple is expected to share.
“Be pleased to take notice that the plaintiff wishes to deliver the assets listed below at number… Folly Jon Avenue Glen Lorne on Saturday 31st October,” Chiwenga said in a letter to Marry’s lawyers Mtetwa and Nyambirai Law Firm.
Last week, Chiwenga delivered a truck full of property including furniture and clothes as well as vehicles to Marry’s business premises in Eastlea suburb.
Marry’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, said she is launching a challenge against Chiwenga’s unilateral move.
“The Vice-President is acting as if he is the judge. He thinks he can do as he pleases. That is not how it works in the courts and he is setting a bad precedent,” Mtetwa told The NewsHawks.
“Clearly, there is no point of going to court, that completely undermines the judiciary. We are going to challenge his actions. He is now acting like the judge and the jury.”
Chiwenga offered Marry a king l-size bed, leather sofas, carpets, a refrigerator, chest of drawers, a television set, mirrors and tables from the main bedroom.
He also offered to deliver additional tables, sofas, mirrors, another television, vases and lamp shades. Other items include another carpet, ornaments and photos from Marry’s lounge and other furniture from two other lounges.
From the kitchen, Chiwenga was willing to give Marry glasses, cutlery, pots, trays, a washing machine and other utensils.
Chiwenga, through his lawyers Manase and Manase, also listed nine vehicles he said he was willing to release to Marry, including two Range Rovers, two Ford Rangers, a Chevrolet, a Jeep, a Mercedes-Benz C200, Mercedes Benz E300 and a Kia Rio.
According to the list, Marry will also keep other immovable properties in Zimbabwe and South Africa and her offices in Eastlea.
The consolidated list omits immovable properties that the couple shared and resided in, including a house at 5 Rosary Close in the Quinnington area of Borrowdale suburb, measuring 5 701 square metres and the famous Borrowdale Brooke mansion.
Chiwenga will also keep Orchid Farm (formerly Arda Farm) along Domboshava Road. The couple also had Chivaraidze Farm (900 hectares) and Mermaids Pool (1 000 hectares) which is also excluded from the list.
The Vice-President also left out premises in Victoria Falls, Harare’s Willowvale industrial area and Marondera as well as housing stands in Harare’s Crowhill, New City of Harare (400 hectares), Gletwin, Chishawasha and Glen Lorne.
Apart from the farm, Chiwenga said he would like to keep furniture from his lounge including sofas, mirrors, paintings, a television set, mirrors, a leopard trophy, lion trophy, and furniture from another lounge.
From the Gazebo, Chiwenga wants the snooker table, a refrigerator, a freezer, bar stools, chairs, sofas, and tables. He also wants one events tent for each party.
In a landmark ruling in July, the Supreme Court ruled that married couples are entitled to an equal share of property (immovable and movable) regardless of their contribution to acquiring the said property.
Legal experts told The NewsHawks that there are various factors that go into property distribution, including the duration of the marriage as well as the lifestyle the parties enjoyed during the marriage, which in some cases must be maintained.
Other considerations such as whether the property has been contested before in a previous divorce.
Chiwenga and Marry also have many companies. The vice-president previously battled for companies such as Blue Chip Stamp Company (Pvt) Ltd, Lighthouse Investments (Pvt) Ltd that owned four industrial units in Willowvale, with each unit measuring 3 850 square metres and Liversay Investments (Pvt) Ltd, with his ex-wife Jocelyne.
They also owned Ouacker Investments, Hidcote Investment (Pvt) Ltd, which owns Grandi Lodge Sixty and Yolsac Safaris (Pvt) Ltd that trades as Kazungula Wildlife Safari; an apartment in Malaysia and a house in Msasa Park as well as Dokson Investments which spearheaded operations on their farm in Goromonzi.
