The High Court has dismissed an application by Harare lawyer Emmanuel Mukwewa to rescind a default judgment ordering him and businessman Richard Paswa to jointly repay US$176,000 to Chinese investor Huang Li Qiang over a botched land deal.
Justice Siyabona Musithu ruled that Mukwewa failed to show "good and sufficient cause" for setting aside the judgment, finding that his explanation for ignoring summons and his alleged defence were both without merit.
"The applicant failed to give a reasonable explanation for his failure to enter an appearance to defend," the judge said.
"The purported defence on the merits bears no prospects of success."
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The dispute arose in September 2023 when Huang entered into what was called an "Agreement of Consultancy of Immovable Property" drafted by Mukwewa. Under the deal, Paswa was to sell Huang a 20,000 square metre stand in Harare's Coca Cola area. Huang paid US$170,000 of the purchase price, but the land was never delivered.
In July 2024, after neither Paswa nor Mukwewa filed a defence to Huang's lawsuit, the court granted a default judgment, ordering the pair to refund Huang with interest and costs. The investor had accused Mukwewa of colluding with Paswa to defraud him, alleging the stand was non-existent.
Mukwewa argued he only learned of the judgment months later and claimed he was not properly served since the summons was left at his old office gate after he had moved. He further insisted he acted only as a legal practitioner drafting the agreement, not as a party to the transaction.
But Musithu rejected this, saying service by affixing was proper under the rules and that Mukwewa's conduct in drafting and facilitating the deal went beyond mere legal drafting.
"The way the applicant handled the transaction, as well as the movement of the funds, was all shrouded in secrecy. It bears all the hallmarks of a fraudulent transaction, and regrettably, with the applicant as the main facilitator," the court ruled.
The judge noted that Mukwewa styled the contract as a "consultancy" deal, yet it clearly amounted to a sale of immovable property which never existed.
"It gave the impression that the property was in existence at the time the applicant prepared the agreement of sale. Yet, as it turns out, the property did not exist,"Musithu said.
He added that Mukwewa's failure to protect his client's interests, including releasing funds without ensuring title transfer, was professionally negligent at best and fraudulent at worst.
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"The apparent lack of care exhibited by the applicant makes him susceptible to a claim of this nature," the judge concluded.
Mukwewa's application was dismissed with costs, leaving the default judgment against him and Paswa intact.
