It ended in tears: President Mugabe's minister loses assets worth US$750,000
Former Water Resources Minister Munacho Mutezo is set to lose farm machinery and cattle worth US$750,000 after losing a court case to his former business partner, Des Moines Farm.
Mutezo, once a loyal member of Robert Mugabe’s government, was expelled from ZANU PF in 2016 for allegedly supporting Joice Mujuru. He has been battling to stop the auction of assets from his Fernicary Farm (also called Rutendo Farm) in Manicaland, which were seized to settle a debt owed to Des Moines Farm for farm improvements.
Property attached by the Sheriff:
•1x John Deere tractor 4×4
•1x John Deere combine harvester
•1x 500kVA power transformer
•78x mainline PVC pipes (250mm)
•1x 110 HP Electric motor
•1x 90HP pump
•1x Kipor industrial generator (24kVA)
•1x Atlas Copco air compressor
•1x PTO welding machine
•1x welding machine
•7x heifers
•6x cows
•1x bull
•4x calves
Mutezo argued that six of these items (the combine harvester, transformer, pipes, generator, pump, and motor) were government property given to farmers under the 2007-2008 Farm Mechanisation Programme, a scheme introduced by the Zimbabwean government to boost agricultural productivity. The programme provided equipment like tractors, harvesters, and irrigation tools to selected farmers on loan or subsidised terms.
Mutezo claimed these assets were distributed to him under this programme while he was still a government minister and insisted they still belonged to the state. He said he had used this equipment to assist other farmers in his area.
However, the court dismissed his argument, pointing out that he failed to prove government ownership and had not made the government part of the court case. Des Moines Farm argued that Mutezo’s attempts to drag the government into his private debts were “unacceptable and regrettable.”
The High Court ruled that the auction will proceed to recover the debt.
Source: My Zimbabwe
