THE death of Harare hustler and socialite Genius Kadungure (pictured) has scuttled investigations into his alleged tax evasion, as it emerges that two of his luxury cars are still impounded by the police, The NewsHawks has established.
BERNARD MPOFU
Kadungure, who was known in social cycles as “Ginimbi”, died last November in a horrific car crash, which also claimed the lives of three of his associates.
Police sources who spoke to The NewsHawks this week said the late businessman’s Bentley and Rolls Royce are still impounded at Morris Depot in Harare.
“The two cars are at the Commercial Crimes Unit (previously Criminal Investigations Department HQ) at Morris Depot. They are covered to protect them from UV (ultraviolet light) and, once the case closes, police will be in position to release them. One of his female associates has taken that responsibility to cover the cars so that they do not get damaged by the sun,” a source said.
Contacted for comment, police spokesperson Paul Nyathi asked this journalist to call later after saying he had other engagements. His mobile number was later unreachable.
Before his demise, Ginimbi was in February 2020 arrested for under-valuing his Rolls Royce Ghost luxury vehicle. Court papers showed that Ginimbi claimed that he bought the car for R3 million but the state said the actual cost was R5 million.
His arrest came two days after the hustler was granted bail after spending two weeks in remand prison for another fraud charge.
The deceased socialite, who was well known for flaunting his wealth on social media, had been arrested for fabricating a vehicle purchase receipt that undervalued a Bentley Continental he had imported from South Africa.
In March this year, Harare lawyer Patricia Darangwa, the disputed executor of Ginimbi’s estate, filed a Supreme Court appeal against a provisional High Court order prohibiting her from processing the late socialite’s properties.
The order was granted recently by Justice Slyvia Chirawu-Mugomba who noted “red flags” after the Kadungure family questioned the legitimacy of an unsigned will presented by Darangwa, and why she was appointed executrix by the Master of High Court in the first place.
A lawyer representing Ginimbi’s family said Darangwa’s move put his wealth at risk as it delays the finalisation of the feud.
The appeal suspended the execution of the provisional High Court edict, forcing the Kadungures to rush back to court seeking its operationalisation.
In a certificate of urgency, family lawyer Wellington Magaya accused Darangwa of pursuing the matter to the Supreme Court for reasons of greed.
The court has been told that FNB Bank Botswana, holding some of the Ginimbi’s finances, had given the family a moratorium of up to 31 March 2021 to resolve the executorship dispute and validity of the will.
It also appears there are liabilities.
The bank is now demanding that a know your customer (KYC) process on the deceased’s company account be done in seven days, failure to which it shall without notice invoke loan recovery remedies available to it at law.
Ginimbi died in a horrific car accident last year when his Rolls Royce veered off the road in Harare and rammed into a tree before exploding into a fireball, killing him and three friends on the spot.
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