Last year, the High Court granted the Prosecutor-General aforfeiture order against Mr Chitukutuku’s assets, including two houses in theaffluent suburbs of Borrowdale and Glen Lorne, and luxury vehicles, as well asshares in Champions Insurance Company. The court ruled that the assets were acquired using illicitfunds, which were misappropriated from Zinara during his tenure as chiefexecutive officer. In granting the forfeiture order, the High Court noted thatMr Chitukutuku failed to adequately explain the source of his wealth.
However, the former executive now claims the forfeitureorder was applied retroactively, violating legal principles. Mr Chitukutuku, along with his wife Nyasha and HotspikesPrivate Limited, who are co-appellants, cited the Prosecutor-General, theRegistrar of Deeds and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles as respondents. “Having correctly ruled that having regard to Section 79and 80 of the Money Laundering And Proceeds of Crime Act, property acquiredbefore the Act came into force could not be subject to forfeiture orders, thecourt a quo grossly erred and misdirected itself by granting forfeiture ordersin respect of the two immovable properties described in paragraphs 2(h) and2(1) of the operative part of judgment together with movable assets describedin paragraphs 2(a)-(g) of the judgment, notwithstanding that the propertieswere acquired before the Act came into force,” argued Mr Chitukutuku in hisappeal.
“In his reasons for judgment, the learned judge m.
