A GWERU couple with hearing, talking and mental impairments
lost their home after they were tricked into giving up their title deeds as
surety for a US$100 000 loan taken by a stranger around 2009.
Now the couple, Mr Paul John Frank Navratil and Mrs Beauty
Marimira-Navratil, their family, and tenants have been living outside their
Athlone suburb home for the past 15 days after they were evicted by the
Messenger of Court.
A Maggie Dlodlo purchased the house for US$20 000 in 2016
but only evicted them on 19 April this year.
Sunday News visited the Navratil family in Gweru where the
crew found them sitting in despair outside what used to be their home.
Because both Mr and Mrs Navratil cannot hear and talk much,
this reporter spoke through Ms Joselyne Marimira, a sister to Mrs Navratil, who
has been living with them for the past 12 years.
“This issue started in 2009 when a man called Noble Maguwu
took a loan from Agribank (now AFC Bank) in Gweru and gave two of his
residential stands in Mkoba 9 as surety. He was supposed to repay the loan in
60 days but he failed and was taken to court by the bank.
“He then approached Mr Navratil, my brother-in-law who has
a psychiatric problem and cannot hear or talk well. Mr Maguwu asked for the
title deeds and said he would return them after six months as he wanted to get
a loan.
“He bought my brother-in-law a meal and promised to give
him US$200 a month until the deeds returned but he never paid him and did not
return the documents,” said Ms Marimira.
It was later gathered that Mr Maguwu and his wife Busisiwe
fraudulently added Mr Navratil to their company documents — Nacbol Investments
(Pvt) Limited (Parama Bakery) — saying they were business partners.
“The title deeds were surrendered to the bank together with
a fake Power of Attorney and Mr Navratil signed some documents agreeing to
release his title deeds under what is called Continuous Surety Bond. This meant
the deeds were going to remain at the bank and he could borrow more money even
after the payment of the US$100 000,” she said.
Ms Marimira said she made a report in Harare at the Police
Headquarters and at Agribank headquarters too where she was told that the bank
could not attach the house.
“I was told that the paperwork was not clear and the bank
could not attach the house and I was told to make a police report that would
ensure investigations commence,” she said.
“We made an application to the High Court and we were told
the house could not be sold but after three days the house was sold. We were
left confused.”
What also baffled the family was that the US$100 000 that
was paid to Nacbol Investments was too much money for an investment into a
small bakery in Gweru in 2010.
Mr Maguwu was called by the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) and asked about his relationship with Mr Navratil. He
reportedly said he did not know him but had just used his title deeds. However,
it is said he was never arrested.
News then filtered through
that the manager who had authorised the US$100 000 loan fled to the
United Kingdom after the case was unearthed.
Mr Alfred Marimira, a brother to Mrs Marimira-Navratil
tried to get information from the Sheriff of the High Court in Bulawayo in 2017
on the sale of the house and was shown the case file.
“Surprisingly when I went there last year they refused to
show me the file, they said the file had been mixed with a case file for
Dairiboard. I insisted that the lady who served me put it in writing to that
effect. I understand that the woman has since left her job too.
“I wanted to find out what exactly was realised from the
sale of the house who bought it and when the title deeds were transferred too,”
said Mr Marimira.
Mr Maguwu would channel all correspondence regarding the
sale of the property and court documents to his residential address in Lundi
Park, such that the family was unaware of what was taking place until they lost
the house.
Ms Marimira also questioned why Maggie Dlodlo only showed
up at the house on the day of eviction in April this year and how she purchased
a house seven years ago without ever viewing it or communicating with its
owners.
“We were shocked when we saw the water bills coming under
her name last year yet we had never seen her before or heard from her,” she
added.
Asked about the relationship between Mr Maguwu and Mr
Navratil, Ms Marimira said they were not friends.
“They never hung out together, neither were they friends,
but there is a friend of Mr Navratil called Uncle Joe, a musician, who used to
borrow musical instruments from him, he is the one who came with Mr Maguwu and
introduced him before he took the title deeds.
“But Joe knew the state of my brother-in-law, he was in no
capacity to enter into any legal agreements alone without an assistant. They
took advantage of him and robbed him of his property,” she lamented.
Mr Navratil has been a victim of other locals who have been
helping themselves to his property taking advantage of his condition.
A 15-hectare plot in Christmas Gift in Gweru was exchanged
for a car and at one time he had 12 vehicles but does not have a single one
after he was duped by people.
Efforts to get a comment from Mr Muguwu were fruitless and
reports are that Ms Dlodlo has applied to the High Court to have the blind
couple and their family moved from the front of the house. Sunday News
