A Harare court has cleared lawyer Stanslaus Munyaradzi Bwanya of all wrong-doing in a land fight at Carrick Creagh Estate, Borrowdale.
Magistrate Lisah Mutendereki found Bwanya not guilty of lying under oath, forcing payment, and making false papers. She pointed out problems with how the case was brought to court. She said lawyers must follow what their clients ask them to do, and charging them for doing their work would harm justice.
The trouble began in 2009. Former Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission leader Farai Olivia Mashonganyika bought land plot 91 in Carrick Creagh Estate. She paid $10,000 in building fees to Arosume Property Development and $4,000 for the land itself through the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. She received paper proof of her ownership in 2011.
The state claimed Bwanya tried to make Mashonganyika give up part of her land in April 2022. They said he went to her brother, Moses Gumbochuma, asking for 2,000 square meters to fix some legal issues. The state also said Bwanya made up court papers to stop building work on the land. Bwanya said these claims were false and meant to hurt him.
The court found big holes in the state's case. No one could prove Bwanya asked for any land. Instead, Bwanya showed a recorded talk with Mashonganyika to prove he did nothing wrong. Mashonganyika said the recording was bad evidence, but police never checked if it was real.
The state also said Bwanya lied to the court and made false land papers. He strongly denied this. He said Mashonganyika made up these claims because she had taken state land without permission.
Bwanya kept saying he only did what lawyers and land paper writers should do for Arosume Property Development. Papers, people who saw what happened, and workers from the land office backed up what he said.
The court agreed that Bwanya did his job right and that Arosume had real reasons to care about the land. This ruling shows that Bwanya did nothing wrong and helped fix his good name as a lawyer.
Magistrate Lisah Mutendereki found Bwanya not guilty of lying under oath, forcing payment, and making false papers. She pointed out problems with how the case was brought to court. She said lawyers must follow what their clients ask them to do, and charging them for doing their work would harm justice.
The trouble began in 2009. Former Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission leader Farai Olivia Mashonganyika bought land plot 91 in Carrick Creagh Estate. She paid $10,000 in building fees to Arosume Property Development and $4,000 for the land itself through the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. She received paper proof of her ownership in 2011.
The state claimed Bwanya tried to make Mashonganyika give up part of her land in April 2022. They said he went to her brother, Moses Gumbochuma, asking for 2,000 square meters to fix some legal issues. The state also said Bwanya made up court papers to stop building work on the land. Bwanya said these claims were false and meant to hurt him.
The court found big holes in the state's case. No one could prove Bwanya asked for any land. Instead, Bwanya showed a recorded talk with Mashonganyika to prove he did nothing wrong. Mashonganyika said the recording was bad evidence, but police never checked if it was real.
The state also said Bwanya lied to the court and made false land papers. He strongly denied this. He said Mashonganyika made up these claims because she had taken state land without permission.
Bwanya kept saying he only did what lawyers and land paper writers should do for Arosume Property Development. Papers, people who saw what happened, and workers from the land office backed up what he said.
The court agreed that Bwanya did his job right and that Arosume had real reasons to care about the land. This ruling shows that Bwanya did nothing wrong and helped fix his good name as a lawyer.
