A Harare magistrate has pushed back the fraud trial of a Belvedere educator and his wife who are accused of improperly enlarging their stake in a family-run property company, 263Chat reports.
Thakorbhai Kanjee, 73, and Jaya Kanjee, 71, appeared before magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai. Their case was moved to October 27.
The couple is alleged to have raised their ownership in T and J Investments (Pvt) Ltd by assigning themselves extra shares without the agreement of a fellow director, Neeshta Urmila Patel, according to 263Chat.
Why it matters
The case turns on control of a private company built around family property interests, and it puts a spotlight on how shareholdings can shift when directors disagree.
At its centre is a claim that paperwork filed with Zimbabwe's Registrar of Companies did not reflect what all the directors had actually agreed. If the court accepts the State's account, the matter becomes not only a dispute over who owns what inside a family business, but also a question about the integrity of records that companies are legally required to keep accurate.
For families that hold property and other assets through private companies, the proceedings illustrate how quickly a disagreement over shares can move from an internal argument into a criminal courtroom. The outcome may also be watched by company officers who rely on the Registrar's filings as an authoritative record of ownership.
What Patel told the court
Patel testified that she came into her stake in the company through inheritance, taking over the 20 shares held by her late father in 2015.
She told the court that in August 2024 her uncle and aunt put a proposal to her to split the company's shares evenly, 263Chat reports. She said she declined to put her signature to the resolution.
According to her testimony, she later learned that a Return of Allotments, a form known as a CR 11, had been lodged with the Registrar of Companies. That filing, she said, showed that each of the accused had given themselves an additional 10 shares.
Patel also told the court that she was prevented from getting at company records held at the Registrar's office, which led her to take the matter to the police.
The State's allegations
The prosecution is represented by Lawrence Gangarahwe.
The State alleges that the two accused acted with a shared intention to cheat Patel and to interfere with the proper running of the company, 263Chat reports.
It further alleges that on August 16, 2024, the couple handed the Registrar a resolution that had been forged. That document, according to the State, gave the false impression that every director had signed off on changes to how the company's shares were divided.
The alleged false representation is said to have led the Registrar to act on the changes, with each accused receiving 10 more shares. Patel, the State says, knew nothing about it and had not agreed to it.
The couple faces fraud charges. The trial is now set to continue on October 27.
