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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter

VICE-President Kembo Mohadi’s daughter, Mrs Abigail Malcolm, has taken Umguza Rural District Council to court following the cancellation of a lease agreement for a piece of land which the local authority had allegedly offered her.

Mrs Malcolm accuses Umguza RDC of ostensibly reallocating her plot situated in Douglasdale, which she had acquired for agricultural and residential purposes, to another person despite having made a full payment of US$1 000 in development levy, pegging fee, lease deposit, servicing fee, lease processing and rentals.

Mrs Malcolm, through her lawyers Ncube Attorneys, has filed an application at the Bulawayo High Court seeking an order directing Umguza RDC to nullify the reallocation of the plot and establish a valid contract of lease with her.

In papers before the court, Umguza RDC and an unidentified occupant of the disputed piece of land, were cited as respondents.

In her founding affidavit, Mrs Malcolm said she was allocated the plot on Lot 1 of stand number 116 Douglasdale Township, Umguza district on April 12 in 2011.

“I applied for an agricultural and residential plot within Umguza district and the stand was extended to me by the first respondent (Umguza RDC) and I accepted the offer and made full payment of US$1 000 including a lease processing fee of US$20,” she said.

Mrs Malcolm said soon after paying for the piece of land, Umguza RDC advised her that they would first process the lease agreement before inviting her to sign the documents at a later stage. 

“Thereafter, the first respondent went silent and several trips to Umguza RDC offices to sign a lease agreement did not yield positive results. In the intervening period, I would visit the stand occasionally and I observed nothing of concern until September 3, 2019, when I found out that someone had cleared the stand and commenced developments on the piece of land,” she said.

Mrs Malcolm said when she sought clarification from council, she was advised that the plot had since been reallocated to another person.

“When I went to the Umguza RDC offices, I was told that the reason for reallocation was that I delayed in visiting the offices to sign a lease agreement in respect of the plot. Surprisingly, I had all along been patiently waiting for the first respondent’s invitation to sign the papers, and therefore such actions by the council to reallocate the stand, which was initially allocated to me is in bad faith,” she said.

Mrs Malcolm said council has not officially communicated to her about the withdrawal of the offer.

“The first respondent has kept quiet and has also not even bothered to respond to my written queries, including those from my legal practitioners in the foregoing regard,” she said.

Mrs Malcolm said Umguza RDC acted unlawfully by withdrawing its offer to her without notifying her. She argued that her constitutional right to transparent and fair administrative action has been violated.

She wants the reallocation of the piece of land declared a nullity.

Mrs Malcolm said in the event that respondents unsuccessfully oppose the application, they should be ordered to pay the legal costs she incurred.

The respondents are yet to respond.-@mashnets