Two siblings have dragged Southern Province PF publicity secretary Trymore Mwenda to court for allegedly selling his newly-built house to someone else despite collecting a down payment of over K300,000 from them.

Dickson Kapuka, who is currently residing in Australia and Marcia Kapuka, are seeking a declaration that the oral contract entered between the parties is void, as well as, a sum of K320,000 which they allegedly paid to Mwenda.

In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Tuesday, the plaintiffs stated that Dickson wanted to purchase a house in Lusaka and he discussed his desire with his sister.

“Dickson was desirous of purchasing a house in Lusaka. In view of this, he did discuss this desire with his sister, Marcia. Due to the fact that Dickson does not reside in Zambia, he asked his sister to look out for viable property on the market for him to purchase,” read the statement.

The plaintiffs further stated that Marcia came across an advert on Facebook of a three-bedroomed newly-built house for sale, with an asking purchase price of K850,000.

The duo stated that on inquiries made by Marcia, it was discovered that the owner was Trymore Mwenda.

They stated that they entered into an oral agreement for the purchase of the house and it was agreed that in order for the title deeds to be changed into Dickson’s names, Mwenda required a sum of K800,000.

The plaintiffs stated that as a starting point, Dickson, through his sister in June last year, deposited some monies in the sum of K128,000 into Mwenda’s bank account, while the other monies were given in cash.

They stated that between June, 2018, and August, 2018, Mwenda received a total sum of K320,000 from them under an oral contract for the purchase of the house.

The duo disclosed that in August last year, Marcia discovered through Facebook that Mwenda had continued to advertise the same house for sale despite Dickson already paying monies for its purchase.

“Marcia immediately alerted the person advertising to take down the advert considering that Dickson had already paid monies for its purchase,” read the statement of claim.

They lamented that despite their requests, the adverts were not removed, which led to them questioning Mwenda’s honesty and the authenticity of their agreement.

The plaintiffs stated that these doubts led them to write to Mwenda on August 18, last year, to terminate the transaction and requesting him to return the K320,000 that they had paid him.

They added that they had now discovered that Mwenda had sometime in September, 2018, sold the property to someone else shortly after being advised that they would not be purchasing the property.

The duo stated that they had still not received the K320,000 to-date.

“The plaintiffs have given the defendant ample opportunity to resolve this matter and pay back the K320,000, but the defendant has refused or been negligent in resolving the matter and paying back the sum,” read the statement of claim.

They are now seeking a declaration that the oral contract entered into between the parties is void for non-compliance with the statute of frauds, the sum of K320,000 paid to Mwenda, damages for loss of use of funds, interest, costs and any other relief.