Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | A sprawling, 13-room mansion nearing completion in Bulawayo’s affluent Kumalo suburb is set to be reduced to rubble, but the impending demolition has peeled back the layers on a festering scandal of deep-seated corruption, missing files, and a deliberate cover-up operation within the Bulawayo City Council (BCC).
The property at 15 Pingstone Road has become the epicenter of a 38-year ownership wrangle that auditors say was fueled by “unprocedural acts” designed by municipal officials to hide the stand from official records.
A “Conspiracy of Silence” at City Hall
While the mansion stands roof-high, a confidential council audit has exposed that it was built on a foundation of lies and bureaucratic fraud. The audit report delivers a damning verdict on the city’s Housing and Community Services Department, accusing officials of deliberately supplying inaccurate ownership information to the Chamber Secretary—misinformation that was then fed to the courts and external parties.
“Such inaccuracies compromise the reliability of City processes and the reputation of the City as a custodian of accurate information,” the auditors warned, exposing how the council’s own negligence has left the municipality wide open to litigation.
The rot reportedly stretches back to 1987. The stand was originally sold to the late Mrs. Girlie Malunga for $3,540. However, in a move that reeks of an inside job, the council only collected a quarter of the purchase price and then sat on its hands. For decades, officials took zero action to recover the balance or repossess the land, raising serious suspicions that the property was being “kept off the books” to facilitate illegal transfers.
The Mystery of the Missing Files
The audit reveals a chaotic trail of missing documents that suggests a deliberate attempt to erase history.
-
Ghost Plans: The Town Planning Department’s files reference two “approved building plans,” yet physically, neither plan exists.
-
Vanishing Agreements: A 2002 receipt referencing a “copy of Agreement of Sale” for a Mr. Mhlanga was flagged as highly suspicious, with auditors suggesting the actual agreement was ripped out of the file to conceal the transaction.
The current construction, bankrolled by South Africa-based Mr. Fanwell Zouma, was allowed to rise to roof level without a single approved building plan—a feat impossible without the tacit approval or willful blindness of city inspectors.
Multiple Owners, One Corrupt System
The chaos at City Hall allowed the same piece of land to be “owned” by at least four different people, creating a legal nightmare.
The saga exploded recently when Mr. Raphael Masuku approached the BCC, claiming the mansion was being built on his land. This triggered the audit that exposed the mess.
-
1987: Sold to the Malunga family, who never paid in full.
-
2008: Allegedly sold to Stanley Mpofu (who auditors cannot find).
-
2012: Sold to the late Thabani Mguni.
-
2016: Allegedly sold to Raphael Masuku (a claim auditors dismissed).
-
Current: Sold by Mguni’s widow to Fanwell Zouma.
In a shocking display of incompetence, councillors are now questioning why the BCC legal team failed to challenge a 2023 High Court order that recognized Mrs. Mguni’s claim to the land, despite the glaring lack of proper paperwork.
Faced with a scandal that threatens to expose a wider syndicate of illegal land deals, the council committee was unanimous: the mansion must go.
City Fathers have declared that the structure must be demolished not just because it lacks plans, but to “restore the integrity of council procedures.” They warned that allowing this illegal transfer to stand would set a dangerous precedent, emboldening land barons to bypass council procedures and use the courts to legitimize stolen land.
The demolition is expected to commence once formal procedures are concluded, serving as a very expensive monument to the cost of municipal corruption.
For comments, Feedback and Opinions do get in touch with our editor on WhatsApp: +44 7949 297606.
