Prominent lawyer Wilson Manase was taken into custody last Wednesday by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) over allegations of mismanaging a deceased estate.
Manase was apprehended as he exited the Harare Magistrate Court, where he was already facing another case related to the misuse of estate property.
His arrest follows a complaint lodged by Tongai Mhlanga, the son of the late businesswoman Jane Maisiri. Mhlanga accuses Manase, who was the executor of Maisiri’s estate, of failing to properly account for certain assets.
Manase had been at the court attending to a separate matter in which Langton Nyatsambo accuses him of unlawfully handling the estate of Nyatsambo’s late wife, Fiona Shadaya.
It is alleged that Manase falsified divorce documents to claim that Fiona and Nyatsambo were no longer married at the time of her death. This move allegedly aimed to prevent Nyatsambo from inheriting any part of the estate.
Manase asserts that he received the divorce papers from Fiona’s father, Marshal Shadaya. However, Shadaya refutes this claim, arguing that it was, in fact, Manase who provided him with the documents. Both men are expected to testify regarding the authenticity of the disputed divorce papers.
Nyatsambo further alleges that an investigation at the High Court revealed that the case number on Fiona’s supposed divorce certificate actually belonged to an unrelated white couple.
Fiona passed away in 2009, yet her estate remains unsettled. Manase has reportedly disposed of several of her properties, but Nyatsambo claims he has not received any proceeds from the sales.
Documents submitted to the Master of the High Court indicate that Manase valued the deceased’s estate at approximately US$1.5 million. However, court filings show that he later revised the estimate to nearly US$5 million.
Manase also stated in papers at the Master of the High Court that he had claimed executor fees of US$80,000. Yet, in filings at the High Court, this amount increased to about US$320,000, according to Nyatsambo.
On the day of Manase’s arrest, police officers surrounded Nyatsambo, intending to apprehend him over an undisclosed complaint reportedly filed against him by Manase.
ZACC took Manase into custody to respond to allegations that he had misused Maisiri’s estate, including selling and leasing her properties without informing her family.
He is further accused of failing to transfer rental income to the rightful beneficiaries and of not accounting for money in Maisiri’s offshore account. Additionally, it is alleged that he gave one of her properties in Eastlea, Harare, to his son.
Mhlanga also claims that Manase has been collecting rent from multiple estate properties for years without properly accounting for the funds.
The complaints against Manase have been submitted to the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which oversees lawyers’ professional conduct.
Despite the accusations, Manase denies any wrongdoing.
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