The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka, Senior Reporter
OWNERSHIP of what used to be one of the country’s prime dairy farms — Esidakeni Estate — has been cast into a maze of controversy with a number of parties claiming to own the 1 000-hectare piece of land in Matabeleland North’s Umguza District.
Standard Charted Bank once sought to sell the property to offset a loan debt accrued by then owner, the late Edias Warambwa who listed the farm as his property, but purported previous owners, Kershelmar Farms Pvt Ltd are now claiming ownership of the farm, a claim challenged by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement.
In 2015, the farm was reportedly auctioned to service a $150 000 loan which the then said owner Warambwa failed to settle with Standard Chartered Bank.
Documents in Sunday News’ possession, however, show that the sale of the property hit a brick wall after it emerged that the farm was registered under Kershelmar Farms Pvt Ltd at the Deeds Office. Kershelmar Farms have since come forward claiming the dairy farm, which otherwise should be property of Standard Chartered Bank by virtue of a High Court judgment of 2015.
Documents from the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement show that the property belonged to Warambwa and he had purchased it from Kershelmar Farms in 2001.
Standard Chartered Bank won a writ of execution in 2015 against Mr Warambwa’s property after the latter defaulted payment of a $150 000 bank loan he had taken in 2010 under his company, Lybon Investment. The bank successfully auctioned, at a value of $56 000, Stand 643 Bulawayo Township, belonging to Precious Warambwa, who provided herself as surety and co-principal debtor, to settle part of the debt.
Standard Chartered Bank was represented by Phulu and Ncube Legal Practitioners when it successfully sued Warambwa, albeit failing to auction Esidakeni Estate. The same law firm has now emerged fronting Keshelmar Farms’ case as the farming company claims to be the rightful owners of the dairy farm.
In January this year, Keshelmar Farms, through their lawyers, applied for a summary judgment seeking an order to evict Ms Martha Fute who is occupying the farm. Ms Fute claims that her mother Ms Daisy Fute has a running lease with the late Warambwa.
Keshelmar Farms director Mr Dave Power, in his founding affidavit, claimed to be the rightful owner of Esidakeni Estate further stating that that they had previously leased the property to the late Warambwa. According to Mr Power, the lease agreement between Keshelmar Farms and Warambwa did not provide for sub-letting of the property to a third party, making Ms Fute’s lease with the latter illegal.
Mr Power claimed that Keshelmar Farms had, in 2016, entered into another lease with Topclay Estates who should be occupying Esidakeni Farm. However, Ms Fute, through her lawyer Mr Thulani Ndlovu of Sansole and Senda Legal Practitioners, has since filed a notice of opposition against Keshelmar Farms’ application, arguing that she settled at the property legally.
In her submissions she provided the lease agreement between her mother and Warambwa, and documentation which showed that Warambwa was the rightful owner of the farm. Part of the documents include the loan agreement between Warambwa and Standard Chartered Bank in which the former listed Esidakeni Farm as part of one his properties.
Ms Fute argued that Standard Chartered Bank would not have granted Warambwa the loan if he was not the owner of the farm.
She further provided a letter from the then Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement dated 14 December 2016 which confirmed that Warambwa was the owner of the farm.
“According to the information at lands (Ministry) Mr Warambwa bought the farm back in 2001 before implementation of the Land Reform Programme. Thus (sic) why the farm was not gazetted,” reads part of the letter signed by Matabeleland North Province acting chief lands officer a Mr P Nkiwane.
Sunday News is also in possession of a letter, dated 12 April 2017, written to Mr Power of Keshelmar Farms by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement requesting the lease agreement the company claimed to have with Warambwa.
The Ministry, on 17 May 2017 wrote another letter to Ms Fute’s legal counsel reiterating that Warambwa was the owner of the farm and that Keshelmar Farms were yet to provide the lease they claimed to have with Warambwa.
Prominent businessman Mr Raj Modi reportedly bid $200 000 for the farm back in 2015 when the Sheriff of the High Court tried to execute the property. During its peak the farm was one of the top milk suppliers to Dairibord Zimbabwe, with over 500 dairy cows and 300 workers. At the height of the farm’s success, Warambwa was voted Dairy Farmer of the year in 2001 as well as the Commercial Farmer of the year in 2004.
@irielyan
