Grandmother Loses Mandara Home After High Court Rules She Was A Front In Grandson’s Netone Fraud Case

A Harare grandmother has lost her claim to a luxury property after a High Court judge ruled she was merely a front for her grandson. The court found the house was bought with money stolen from the state-owned mobile network, NetOne.

Justice Benjamin Chikowero ordered the forfeiture of a Mandara house and a Toyota Hilux to the state on 14 January 2026. The judge stated the assets were purchased with proceeds of crime from a major airtime fraud.

The former NetOne cashier at the centre of the case, Daniel Kalira, is accused of stealing ZWL$108 million in airtime vouchers between September 2021 and May 2022. His grandmother, Harriet Kalira, was named as the purchaser of the house.

Judge Dismisses “Fictional” Australian Cash Story

The court heard that the Mandara property, Stand 913, was bought for US$52,000 (approx. ZAR 980,000) in December 2021. Harriet Kalira claimed the money came from a gratuity sent by her former employer in Australia. Justice Chikowero rejected this explanation entirely, noting a complete lack of evidence.

“The first respondent’s narrative is that an individual who was her erstwhile employer in Australia sent her a gratuity. The story is that he did this in two tranches; US$42,000 and US$16,000, making a total of US$58,000. Australia and Africa are continents apart. There is no paper trail showing the lawful movement of an amount of US$58,000 from Australia to Cape Town, South Africa, and from Cape Town to Harare, Zimbabwe. I am unable to find that the first respondent lawfully acquired the US$52,000,” Justice Chikowero said.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) testified that border declaration forms submitted as evidence were fake. Justice Chikowero detailed the inconsistencies:

“The Assistant Regional Manager of ZIMRA… pointed out that the ZIMRA date stamp purportedly reflected on the declaration form had been decommissioned. Further, the font on the stamp differed from the official one and the details of the ZIMRA officer who would have dealt with the declaration were omitted. In light of this evidence, the purported travellers’ manual baggage declaration form is a worthless piece of paper.”

The judge found Daniel Kalira had driven the entire transaction himself, acting for his own benefit.

“He is the one who identified the property, negotiated its purchase, paid the purchase price in cash and signed the Agreement of Sale. The supposed purchaser played no role at all. The most probable inference that I draw from these facts is that the purchaser was the first respondent. He used the second respondent as a front,” Justice Chikowero ruled.

Vehicle Bought With “Fictitious” Gold Venture Proceeds

The court also ordered the forfeiture of a Toyota Hilux registered to Kalira’s partner, Charlotte Chivavarirwa. She claimed the US$32,000 (approx. ZAR 600,000) used to buy it came from a gold mining joint venture. Justice Chikowero dismissed this claim, finding collusion.

“I am satisfied that the first and second respondents, realising that the Toyota Hilux would be seized and forfeited, connived amongst themselves to craft the fictitious joint venture agreement with Blessing Chivavarirwa. They did this to give the false impression that the US$32,000 used to purchase this vehicle was her share of the proceeds from the joint venture. The purported joint venture is a sham,” he said.

The judge emphasised that civil forfeiture laws under the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act do not require the state to link assets to a specific, proven crime. He stated:

“What must be proved, on a balance of probabilities, is that the property is proceeds from some conduct constituting or associated with some serious criminal offence. It is not necessary to prove that the property is proceeds of a particular serious crime.”

The court gave a seven-day deadline for the assets to be transferred to the state. Kalira’s separate criminal trial for fraud and money laundering continues at the Harare Magistrates Court.