Harare Lawyer Loses Appeal in Botched Land Deal With Chinese Investor

The High Court has thrown out an attempt by Harare lawyer Emmanuel Mukwewa to overturn a default judgment that compels him and businessman Richard Paswa to jointly repay US$176,000 to Chinese investor Huang Li Qiang after a failed land transaction.

Justice Siyabona Musithu ruled that Mukwewa failed to demonstrate “good and sufficient cause” to have the ruling rescinded, noting that both his explanation for ignoring the court summons and his proposed defence lacked substance.

“The applicant did not provide a reasonable explanation for failing to enter an appearance to defend. His alleged defence carries no prospects of success,” the judge stated.

The case stems from a September 2023 agreement in which Huang paid US$170,000 under a deal drafted by Mukwewa for Paswa to sell him a 20,000-square-metre stand in Harare’s Coca Cola area. The property, however, was never delivered.

In July 2024, after neither Paswa nor Mukwewa responded to the lawsuit, the court issued a default judgment ordering them to refund Huang with interest and costs. Huang accused the pair of collusion, claiming the land did not exist.

Mukwewa later sought to overturn the ruling, arguing he had not been properly served as the summons was left at his former offices. He also claimed he merely prepared the agreement in his capacity as a lawyer and was not a party to the transaction.

Justice Musithu rejected these arguments, ruling that service by affixing was valid under court rules and that Mukwewa’s role went beyond simply drafting documents.

“The manner in which the applicant handled the transaction and the flow of funds was cloaked in secrecy, displaying clear features of a fraudulent arrangement, with the applicant at its centre,” the judgment read.

The court also criticised Mukwewa for disguising the contract as a “consultancy” agreement when it was, in reality, a land sale involving a non-existent property.

“It gave the impression that the land was available at the time of drafting, yet it did not exist,” Justice Musithu observed, adding that Mukwewa’s release of funds without safeguarding the buyer’s rights amounted to gross negligence if not outright fraud.

With the application dismissed with costs, the default judgment against Mukwewa and Paswa remains in force.

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