A Harare magistrate has issued warrants of arrest for Tinashe Pswarayi and Tauya Masunda after the pair failed to appear in court for judgment in a case involving alleged abuse of estate funds amounting to more than US$52 000.
Presiding magistrate Mr Tapiwa Kuhudzai ordered the arrest of the two accused, who are facing allegations of unlawfully diverting rental income generated from properties belonging to the estate of the late liberation war veteran and medical doctor, Edward Munatsireyi Pswarayi.
During the trial, estate executor and senior lawyer Caleb Mucheche, together with the late doctor’s UK-based daughter Chenayimoyo Pswarayi, gave evidence detailing how rental proceeds from the estate were allegedly siphoned between June and November 2014, before an executor had officially been appointed.
According to court testimony, Masunda and Tinashe allegedly set up two fraudulent trusts which prosecutors say were used to channel and conceal rental income collected from estate properties. The State argues that the accused unlawfully retained more than US$52 000 in violation of Section 42 of the Administration of Estates Act [Chapter 6:01].
The matter was brought before the courts by Takunda Pswarayi, who lives in the United Kingdom and is one of the beneficiaries of the estate.
Court proceedings revealed that Tinashe Pswarayi, who is unemployed, served as a trustee of the estate, while Masunda is the director of City Accounting and Secretarial Services and also acted as trustee for the Tondori 1 and Tondori 2 trusts linked to the deceased’s assets.
Prosecutor Polite Chikiwa told the court that Dr Pswarayi had transferred several properties into two trusts in 2009.
The first trust, Tondori 1, reportedly included Munatsireyi Service Station and a commercial property located in Machipisa, Harare. Tondori 2 allegedly held residential stands in Borrowdale Brooke and Kambuzuma, a supermarket in Kambuzuma, as well as a 51 percent stake in Tondori Farm (Pvt) Ltd in Beatrice.
Following Dr Pswarayi’s death on June 8, 2014, the properties remained under the control of the two trusts, with the accused continuing as trustees.
The State alleges that shortly after the death, the pair began collecting rental payments from tenants occupying the estate properties. Prosecutors say they collected US$9 835 in June 2014 alone but failed to hand the money over to the executor or notify the Master of the High Court as required by law.
The court further heard that between August and November 2014, the accused allegedly received an additional US$42 400 in rental income which was neither distributed to beneficiaries nor declared to the executor or the Master of the High Court.
Takunda Pswarayi, who was entitled to a 10 percent share of the estate income, allegedly received nothing during that period.
The alleged irregularities only came to light in December 2014 after Advocate Mucheche was appointed executor dative by the Master of the High Court.
The prosecution maintains that the two accused breached legal procedures governing deceased estates by failing to surrender assets and rental proceeds to the appointed executor.
Authorities say a total of US$52 235 was allegedly misappropriated, and no recoveries have been made so far.