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A failed loan repayment to Absa Bank is about to see Zimbabwean tycoon Mutumwa Mawere lose his R2-million luxury apartment in the South African city of Sandton.
Last week, Absa Bank and the Absa Home Loans Guarantee Company went to the Johannesburg High Court. They are seeking a default judgment and execution order to attach and auction Mawere’s property to the highest bidder, The Herald reported.
On asylum in South Africa, the exiled businessman took a R2-million loan from Absa in 2019 to purchase a luxury apartment in Rivonia, Sandton, with plans to lease it out on rent. The bank granted an additional R400,000 loan to Mawere on the security of his bond with the Absa Home Loans Guarantee Company acting as his surety.
The report stated that the agreement was executed on terms that he would pay a little over R21,000 a month in installments over 192 months toward repaying the loan. But the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have frustrated Mawere’s plans, as he said the current economic situation made it difficult for him to secure tenants for the luxury apartment.
As of February, the arrears on the defaulted loan reached R133,000, prompting the bank to take legal action.
Mawere was once Zimbabwe’s richest man. He had investments in mining, finance, agriculture, insurance, telecommunications, media, international trade, logistics and transportation.
He took over the Shabanie Mashaba Mine (SMM), the country’s single asbestos producer, free of charge. He did this with the support of influential politicians who believed they could keep Mawere at their beck and call.
However, in 2014, after he turned down a political appointment, his relationship with them soured and his conglomerate came under government investigation. He was accused of prejudicing (harming) the state to the tune of over $300 billion.
He recently claimed to have lost thousands of dollars to a state judiciary manager, Afaras Gwaradzimba, who has been collecting rent from his home without making a remittance payment to Mawere for 17 years.
