BY A CORRESPONDENT| A former City of Harare Councilor Norman Markham has raised serious allegations of state capture by a controversial land baron Kenneth Raydon Sharpe who is accused of corrupting the entire government structure resulting in him being awarded vast tracts of land.
In his answering affidavit to an ongoing court challenge to bar City of Harare from proceeding to dish prime city land to Sharpe as payment for the work done on the construction of Airport Road, Markham who is also Harare North legislator said Sharpe’s Augur Investments through one Tatiana Aleshina had extracted so much influence even from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office to push the illegal acquisition of over 270 hectares of land at stand number 653 Pomona Township.
“An agreement for the construction of the Harare Airport road was made between the City of Harare and the 1st Respondent. That agreement was negotiated under an illegal environment where a commission was created despite the fact that a few weeks after the election of March 2008 lawfully elected Councillors existed,” said Markham.
However when the matter went to the Supreme Court on appeal, it is now evident from the Respondents’ own documents that pressure was made to bear on the City of Harare, through a directive from the 9th Respondent (President Emmerson Mnangagwa) in the form of a letter dated the 15th of May 2019 referred to in paragraph 72.4 of the 1st Respondent’s (Augur Investments) affidavit to withdraw all proceedings and settle,” added Markham.
He further revealed that Tatiana Aleshina was actively involved in pushing Local Government minister July Moyo and Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Virginia Mabhiza to visit Mnangagwa in order to force an out of court settlement which eventually saw Sharpe being given land for work he did not do.
“What she is in fact saying is that she uses her influenced to extract a forced settlement on the City of Harare. This is State Capture.
“She is therefore unfairly and mendaciously, name dropping and fingering innocent public officials none more important than the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
“She is in fact saying to this Honourable Court that do not touch the Deed of Settlement. It was made at State House,” further noted Markham.
The now Harare North legislator is embroiled in a desperate bid to save City of Harare land from being taken by Sharpe who has emerged as one of the biggest land barons in the country with over 700 hectares scattered across the city.