War veteran and ZANU PF Central Committee member Blessed Runesu Geza is facing a civil case over his alleged seizure of Harare Safari Lodge.
As reported by The Herald, the case stems from an alleged failure to pay US$1.5 million for the property, which he is accused of acquiring in 2020 from former owner Brett Allan McDonald.
Geza reportedly claims that the land is State property, and therefore unsellable, arguing that the sale agreement is invalid.
The terms of the deal required him to purchase McDonald’s entire shareholding in the lodge for US$1.5 million, with payment due within two weeks.
However, Geza is accused of not paying anything since the agreement was made, despite taking up residence at the lodge and using its assets.
McDonald has sought legal recourse to reclaim the property, with the case now escalated to the High Court.
Geza’s legal team maintains that the agreement is void, asserting that the property was acquired by the State in 2005, and that the sale of shares was unlawful.
The dispute continues, with a pre-trial conference held in May last year failing to resolve the issue.
The court has ruled that the case must proceed to trial to determine ownership of the property, the validity of the agreement, and whether McDonald lawfully cancelled the deal.
In the meantime, McDonald’s lawyer, Simbarashe Chigumira, has expressed concerns about threats made against him by Geza. Said Chigumira:
So, our client entered into an agreement of sale for shares in a company. In terms of that agreement, Mr Geza was supposed to pay the amount of US$1 500 000 within 14 days of signing the agreement.
The parties signed the agreement in December 2020, but Mr Geza did not manage to raise the purchase price for the shares.
Another term of the agreement was that upon purchasing the shares, Mr Geza would consequently take over the Harare Safari Lodge, which is currently housed at Lake Chivero.
But despite failing to raise the purchase price, Mr Geza took occupation of the lodge without our client’s consent.
Our client advises us that Mr Geza forcibly removed his staff from the property and that he’s even occupied the primary residence, which belongs to our client, and which was never part of the agreement.
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