The
municipality of the City of Harare is the lawful owner of a certain piece of
immovable property known as House No.4 Hampshire Road, Eastlea, Harare.
Sometime in September 1993 it entered into a written lease agreement with one
Soul Kenneth Manyasha, the defendant under case number 3174/08, and the
plaintiff under case number HC6675/08.
The
City of Harare is suing Soul Kenneth Manyasha for eviction from the said house,
whereas Soul Kenneth Manyasha is suing for transfer of the property to his
name.
Clause
2 of the Agreement provided for cancellation of the Agreement. It reads –
“2.
The Lease shall commence on the 27th day of September 1993
and shall thereafter continue until terminated by the service of one calendar
month notice in writing by either party to the other.”
On
13 March 2007, the City of Harare wrote to Soul Kenneth Manyasha giving notice
to terminate the lease agreement in terms of clause 2. The letter reads –
“Dear
Sir/Madam
Re: Cancellation of
Lease and Repossession of House 4 Hampshire Road, Eastlea
I
refer to the above matter.
Please
be advised that the lease agreement which you entered with Harare Municipality
is hereby cancelled with effect from 30 April 2007 in terms of clause 2 of the
Agreement.
You
are hereby given one month's notice, that is, from 1 to 30 April 2007, and you
are required to vacate this property on the expiry of notice period and hand
over house flat keys to my housing officer at Sunningdale District Office.
If
you remain in occupation of the property for the period after the date of
cancellation and period of notice, court proceedings for eviction, with costs,
will be taken against you.”
Before
the expiry of the notice period, and on the same date, that is to say 13 March
2007, the plaintiff wrote to the defendant advising that Council had agreed, in
principle that Council houses in Eastlea be sold to sitting tenants. As a
result, Soul Kenneth Manyasha's lease continued to ensure the termination date
of 30 April 2007.
On
14 September 1998, the Acting Director of Housing wrote to the Director of
Housing giving a list of Council houses that were earmarked for sale to sitting
tenants. The list included Soul Manyasha. He was earmarked to be sold dwellings
at House No.4 Hampshire Drive, Eastlea, Harare. His account number was given as
1476. When it came to evaluation, the property was wrongly listed as Stand
Number 3829 instead of 3818. The authorities, upon realizing the error, made
the necessary corrections to reflect the correct Stand Number. The valuation
table reads –
No Name Stand No. Offered Price Period
1.
A.J.Dhlima 3704-230
Samora Machel,
Eastlea $722,960=
18
2.
E.Gachange 3706-234
Samora Machel,
Eastlea $651,580= 7 yrs
3.
S.Manyasha 3829-4
Hampshire Drive, Wrongly valued
Eastlea as Stand 3818 6 yrs
Despite
the initial notice to cancel the lease agreement, and the error made in the
course of the evaluation, the City's Acting Director of Housing and Community
Services wrote to Soul Manyasha on 1 March 1999 offering to sell him the house
in question. The letter reads –
“Dear
Sir/Madam
Sale of Tied Rented
Council Houses
Council
intends to sell its' tied to sitting tenants.
If
you are interested in purchasing the house you are currently occupying please
report to the office of the Research Unit Department of Housing and Community
Services, Old Superintendent's Office, Mbare, Harare, Telephone 726093 – 4
March 1999 at 8:00am, where further details of the scheme can be obtained, and
where you will be interviewed to assess your eligibility.
You
should bring this letter together with your:
(a)
Identification papers –
(i)
National Registration cards (NR).
(ii)
Marriage Certificate (if any).
(b)
Proof of your earnings, and your wife's earnings, if applicable (that is
current payslips).
(c)
Proof of any savings you may have accumulated (savings account books) and/or
letter from your employer stating precise financial assistance.
Should
you fail to attend this interview, or advise if your inability to do so, it
will be assumed you are not interested.”...,.
The
plaintiff, having sold the property to the defendant, it cannot evict him from
the property which now belongs to him. In the result it is ordered –
1. That the plaintiff City of Harare's claim for
eviction be and is hereby dismissed.
