Harare — One of the people claiming "loan shark" Frank Buyanga unprocedurally changed ownership of her Hatfield house after she borrowed money from him has had her case thrown out by the High Court.

On October 16 last year, Fiona Evelyn Taisekwa Jirira filed an application seeking an order to cancel the agreement of sale entered into between herself and Buyanga through one of his company's, Zimcor Trustees Limited.

Justice Rita Makarau handled the matter before she was elevated to the Supreme Court. She dismissed Jirira's application saying: "There is, in my view, no cause of action disclosed in the papers at this stage.

"In the result, I make the following order; the application is dismissed; the applicant will bear the respondent's costs." In March 2009, Jirira borrowed US$15 000 from Buyanga and she surrendered a deed of transfer for her property in Hatfield to the businessman as collateral.

The two parties agreed that the house was worth US$10 000. When she failed to settle the debt, Buyanga took over ownership of the property. Justice Makarau said when Jirira heard reports that Buyanga had been implicated in alleged illegal transfer of properties, she had a caveat placed against the title to the property before approaching the court for relief.

"The application was opposed. The first respondent vehemently denied the agreement of loan and averred that the parties concluded an agreement of sale in respect of property described in the agreement.

"It also denied that the applicant was deceived at any stage into signing the agreement of sale and the various other documents that she signed in preparation of transfer of the property to the first respondent," said Justice Makarau.

Jirira had alleged that they had concluded an agreement of loan and not an agreement of sale.

To this, Justice Makarau said: "She, however, does not explain in detail why she signed the agreement of sale and all the other documents she has listed in her founding affidavit.

"She simply deposes to the fact that she was deceived into signing these documents and does not give the details of the deceit.

"It must have been apparent to her legal practitioners when she approached court for relief that she would have to explain why the agreement of sale had to be set aside as it is the transaction for which contemporaneously made the documents can be produced."

She said the nature of Jirira's case could not be proved on paper alone by way of affidavits.

Justice Makarau said it required the parties to give oral evidence and be examined on their evidence.

Last month, Buyanga who owns a property company, reached an agreement with more than 40 people who had borrowed money and surrendered their title deeds as collateral.

This came after reports that several people lost houses and residential stands worth millions of dollars to Buyanga's allegedly illegal money-lending scheme.

Buyanga owns Hamilton Property Holdings (Private) Limited.