The Sunday Mail
PROMINENT businessman and former Harare City Council commission chairperson Mr Michael Mahachi has been embroiled in a procurement scandal after he sold his US$6,3 million building — Mahachi Quantum House — to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) without following proper procedure.
Mr Mahachi once hogged the limelight following an exposé that he appointed himself as the project manager of the Airport Road project without the consent of the council. Consequently, he racked in about US$2 million in fees.
Fresh details in Mahachi’s case are that he connived with the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing’s director of valuations and estate management, Mr Lazarus Chimba, to deposit US$6,3 million directly into the former’s Premier Bank account on February 3, 2011. This was in contravention of the normal property purchase procedure which requires the money to be deposited into a lawyer’s trust or estate agent account.
This was a grand scheme by Mr Mahachi and Mr Chimba to evade payment of close to US$500 000 in commission fees to an estate agent, Stohill Properties, who clinched the deal on behalf of Mr Mahachi.
The matter has since spilled into the High Court where Justice Nicholas Mathonsi launched a savage attack on Mr Mahachi and Mr Chimba for conniving in the shady deal.
The judge described the two’s evidence during cross-examination as ‘‘dog’s breakfast’’.
In his 18-paged judgment seen by The Sunday Mail Extra, Justice Mathonsi noted that Mr Mahachi admitted that he worked closely with Mr Chimba on the Airport Road project.
The two used their close ties to flout procurement procedures and dupe an agent of over US$470 000.
“Mahachi did not make a good witness. He prevaricated a lot and his version of events kept on changing…
“In short, Chimba was a very dishonest witness whose demeanour was extremely bad. He was completely unreliable.
“In fact, one may add that it is in everyone’s interest that he has retired and will now focus on spending time with his grandchildren and stop bringing embarrassment to the Government, the way he did in this case,” said Justice Mathonsi.
Mr Chimba has reportedly retired from Government although his image remains tainted by the way he handled the purchase of the Zec complex.
However, a heated disagreement erupted between Mr Mahachi and Stohill Properties after the former directly engaged Mr Chimba behind the back of the estate agent.
The initial agreement was that Stohill Properties was to sell the building on behalf of Mr Mahachi at a 7,5 percent commission of the purchase price.
A Stohill Properties representative, Nyarai Mubvumbi, met Mr Mahachi in March 2010 at the complex which now houses Zec where the latter disclosed that he was selling the property.
On March 18 2010, Mr Mahachi, through his daughter Theodorah Mahachi, sent e-mails to Mubvumbi giving details of the floor areas of the property and the title deed in terms of which the property was held by Mr Mahachi.
Through the e-mails, they discussed that the building was being sold for US$7 million with a commission of 7,5 percent.
Mubvumbi then advertised the sale of the property in The Herald on July 8 and 20 in 2010.
The advert was produced in court as evidence.
Following the flighting of the adverts, officials from the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs contacted Mubvumbi who then arranged a meeting with Mr Mahachi.
The Government officials toured the complex and expressed interest in buying the property according to a letter which was written to Mr Chimba by the then Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs deputy director for administration, Hozaya Gadzai, on August 3 2010.
Another Stohill Properties representative, Mr James Chihuri, also contacted Mr Chimba as follow-ups on the valuation of the building.
Mr Chimba was evasive.
It is at this stage that Mr Mahachi dumped Stohill Properties and dealt directly with Mr Chimba who was valuing the complex on behalf of the Government.
“The minutes also confirm that after the plaintiff (Stohill Properties) received the request for valuation, Chihuri had made follow ups with Chimba on it, and that Mubvumbi had notified Mahachi of the pending valuation.
“More importantly Mahachi himself confirmed meeting Mubvumbi and giving her the mandate to sell his property along with other estate agents and he also confirmed seeing the officials from the Ministry of Justice and Zec on the day they viewed the property. Mahachi’s denial of these facts at the trial must be viewed as self-serving and clearly incredible,” read part of Justice Mathonsi’s judgment.
Justice Mathonsi said Mr Chimba ignored an instruction to deal with representatives of Stohill Properties who were Mr Mahachi’s agent.
Mr Chimba acted irregularly for some unknown reason.
It later emerged that Mr Chimba’s actions were deliberate as he was acting in connivance with Mr Mahachi to swindle the agent of its commission.
In court, Mr Mahachi denied that he gave Mubvumbi the mandate to sell his property and also disowned the e-mails written by his daughter, Theodorah Mahachi, to Mubvumbi.
“Coming back to the e-mails, Mahachi expressed surprise that Theodorah and Mubvumbi discussed the sale of the property and commission, when he was not selling it.
“He stated that he did not know where they got the idea that he was selling. He feigned surprise.
“It is highly unlikely, if not well-nigh impossible, that Theodorah would have dreamt that the property was being sold and that Mahachi wanted US$7 million for it.
“In the end, Chimba admitted that he would not have approached the seller if he had not been directed to him by the Justice Ministry which had reacted to the plaintiff’s advertisement,” said Justice Mathonsi.
He later ordered Mr Mahachi to pay US$476 250 as Stohill’s commission together with interest at the prescribed rate of 5 percent per annum from date of judgment to date of payment in full.
