-fleeces Mhunga family of large tracts of prime land
RUTENDO CHIRUME
MASVINGO CITY- A popular Mutare based church bishop who runs an executor services company is up for fraud after he allegedly forged signatures for the estate of transport mogul, Tanda Tavaruva, resulting in the family losing their late father’s property including prime land worth millions of dollars.
Bishop Jeremiah Matenhese who runs Polka Executor Services was reported to the Police by the Mhunga family for fraud as defined in Section 136 of of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23, The Midweek Watch can exclusively reveal.
A subpoena in our possession to Pelagia Tavaruva, Shamiso Tavaruva, Nyarai Tanda Tavaruva and Dr Masinire for them to testify against Bishop Matenhese in court confirms the fraud case.
Matenhese is accused of forging signatures of Mhunga’s estate beneficiaries allegedly authorising him to sell stands in Brooklands Low Density Suburb after Kyle School along Zimuto Road.
The least priced stand is going for US$12 500 measuring 1 250sqm with the highest going for US$40 000 for a size of 4 000sqm and servicing had already started by 2021. (see attached advert).
Officer commanding CID Masvingo was instructed to call the family to appear and testify against Bishop Matenhese on May 22, 2023 and the court case was postponed to June 26, which was again postponed to a later date the family lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa told The Midweek Watch.
“The matter was supposed to be set down a long time ago after an expert confirmed to the Master that the documents being relied upon by Bishop Matenhese were fraudulent.
“The Master was supposed to stop the Bishop from selling the stands at Brooklands based on the expert’s findings, but surprisingly he is continuing and we are in the dark as to why this is going on.
“Remember the Bishop used to work in the Master’s office, so, maybe he knows how to dribble his way out,” said veteran lawyer, Mtetwa.
Efforts to get a comment from the Master of the High Court were not successful as the land line went on unanswered until the time of posting the story.
On June 26 at the Masvingo Magistrate Court, this reporter approached Matenhese, but he gave her a cold shoulder.
“All I can say is we entered a family working relationship with the deceased and I was assisting him with the running of his businesses.
“However, I am not commenting or speaking with the media because I want to give the family a platform to attack me. I have not yet given my defense yet so I would rather wait for the court to hear the case,” he said.
Bishop Matenhese is not new to forgery cases as he was arrested by the Zimbabwe Ant-Corruption Commission in Mutare in February this year for a similar offense where he duped a Chikanga family of their house that had been left behind by their father.
The Mhunga family is set to lose millions worth of property after Bishop Matenhese forged his signatures on Tavaruva Trust property claiming that the deceased left everything in his name.
Mhunga was pprominent businessman and transport operator who died in 2020 in Masvingo
He left behind, six children and wife.
“We wanted to establish a family trust when we realised that Matenhese had duped us and forged our father’s and some of our signatures in a bid to steal from us. We were introduced to him by a family friend but by then father was already ill there is no way he could have made such an agreement with him.
“There was supposed to be a hearing today (June 27) but it was also postponed because the presiding Magistrate was attending a workshop in Harare and it was postponed to July 15 this year.
“This man has a bad record of forging signatures and it cannot be a coincidence that he is always embroiled in such cases every time,” said a family member on anonymity.
Mhunga was a successful businessman who owned Mhunga Buses which plied the length and breadth of Zimbabwe since independence.
He was also an ardent soccer lover who sponsored the most successful team from Masvingo Province, Masvingo United FC affectionately known as Una Una by its legions of fans.
He was declared a Liberation War hero for his roll during the war of Independence when he used to support the freedom fighters in many ways to dethrone the racist white regime.
In the Mutare case, Magistrate Perseverance Makala presided over the case, while Tom Nyatsuro prosecuted. Allegations were that on February 28, 2008, Phineas Muchafuruka died and left his children, Talent, Artwell, Emmanuel, Shyline, Patricia and Sandra as beneficiaries of his estate.
The estate was registered with the Master of High Court under DRME 102/18.
“An edict meeting was held on August 8, 2018 at the Master of the High Court in Mutare. Present in the meeting were four of the beneficiaries of the late Phineas Muchafuruka’s estate, namely Emmanuel, Sandra, Patricia, Shyline and their aunt, Mercy Muchafuruka.
“In the meeting, Sandra was nominated and recommended by the parties present to be the executor of the estate. On March 15, 2019, Sandra caused another edict meeting at the Master of the High Court, Mutare, where Artwell nominated Matenhese to be the new executor of the estate in the absence of his siblings.
“In the meeting, Artwell forged a general power of attorney signed to his name, purporting that the document had been signed by the other absent beneficiaries, giving him a proxy to act on behalf of the other children. The other children were not aware of this meeting and neither did they sign any general power of attorney to nominate Artwell as their proxy,” said Mr Nyatsuro.
The State further alleged that after Matenhese was nominated as the new executioner of the estate, he went on to file the forged waiver of security forms with the Master of the High Court, purporting that the documents were signed by the beneficiaries.
This again is alleged to have been done without the knowledge of Emmanuel, Talent, Shyline and Patricia as they never signed any waiver of security documents.
Matenhese is alleged to have made a request to the Master of the High Court seeking for consent to sell the estate’s asset, which is a house in Chikanga.
In his request, he attached a document which was commissioned by Munjari.
“The document was purporting that all the beneficiaries had consented to sell the house. The document had forged signatures against the names of Emmanuel, Shyline, Talent and Patricia, despite them having never signed it or appeared before the Commissioner of Oaths to give consent,” said Mr Nyatsuro.
“The document is purported to have been signed by the beneficiaries. However, Patricia who also had her signature forged, was in South Africa where she was employed as a teacher, while Shyline was a minor aged 15, hence she could not have signed any legally binding document,” he said.
Nyatsuro said the fraudulent document was then used by Matenhese to request for the consent of the Master of the High Court to sell the property.
The request was granted, leading to disposal of the Chikanga house.
Matenhese sold the house to Ernest Porusingazi for $300 000 on October 23, 2019.
As a result of the accused persons’ actions, the complainant and his other siblings were prejudiced of their shelter and a share of their estate.
Artwell is on the run as the police are looking for him in connection with the matter.
In September 2022 High Court Judge Justice Sunsley Zisengwe revoked Bishop Matenhese’s executorship on Obert Mhere’s Estate DRMS 179/18 after he was found guilty of forging signatures of four children and a wife left behind by the deceased.
Tatenda Mhere took him to court for the fraud case and Bishop Matenhese was ordered to pay the plaintiff costs of suit after a default judgement was handed down when the defentend failed to turn up in court on two consecutive times.
Bishop Matenhese sold the deceased’s house in Mucheke after he forged signatures of the wife and four children and the Judge ordered him to pay back the person he sold the house to.
