HARARE, Zimbabwe — A Harare magistrate on Monday partially dismissed an application for discharge by two men accused of forging company documents to seize control of property linked to the estate of Brian James Rhodes, a grandson of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes.
Provincial Magistrate Lisa Mutendereki ruled that one of the accused, Brian Murphy, must take the witness stand Thursday to defend himself against charges of fraud and misrepresentation. His co-accused, Adam Wood, was acquitted after the court found no evidence tying him to the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors allege the two submitted a forged CR14 form—used to register company directors—to the Registrar of Companies in an attempt to take over Karoi Properties (Pvt.) Ltd., which owns several commercial stands on Harare’s Mutare Road. The company was registered in the name of the late Brian Rhodes.
The properties in question include several stands (184, 186, 188, and 194) along Mutare Road in Harare.
In her ruling, magistrate Lisa Mutendereki noted discrepancies in the evidence presented.
“From the evidence, certain issues are not disputed. In the main charge, it is clear there was a misrepresentation. In the alternative charge, the Registrar’s office, being a public entity, was supplied with false information by Veracity, a company where Murphy is a director,” Mutendereki said in her ruling.
“The first accused (Murphy) must provide a defence based on the evidence presented to the court. However, the second accused (Wood) was proven to have no ties to Veracity and has thus been acquitted.”
According to the State’s case, the late Brian Rhodes executed a will on October 20, 2003, naming several beneficiaries, including Shonar Rhodes Faquar, Benice Rhodes Kilburn, Lonar Rhodes Cruger, Sean Rhodes, and Elizabeth Anne Rhodes.
The will also proposed the creation of a Phoenix Trust. However, by the time of Rhodes’ death on July 29, 2006, the trust had not been registered, and no shares or properties had been transferred to it.
The estate was registered with the Master of the High Court under DR 1426/10 on October 15, 2010, by Rhodes’ surviving spouse. In December 2012, the complainant, Elizabeth Mucheche, was appointed executor of the estate to oversee its administration and the distribution of shares to the beneficiaries.
It was during this time that Mucheche allegedly uncovered fraudulent activity.
The State claims that on October 20, 2016, Murphy and Wood, acting in common purpose, forged a CR14 form for Karoi Properties and submitted it to the Registrar of Companies. The form falsely stated that Brian Rhodes had died on April 30, 2012, instead of the actual date, July 29, 2006.
The CR14 also alleged that Lorna Jane Cruger had resigned as a director of Karoi Properties, a claim contradicted by company records and CR14 form guidelines.
The State alleges these actions were designed to mislead the Registrar’s office and unlawfully alter the company’s directorship.
