Simulated Sales in Zimbabwe

A simulate sale is not a genuine sale. It is a sham or pretence. It is a disguise for some other type of transaction in respect of which the parties do not intend to create any obligations. see Zandberg v Van Zyl 1910 AD 302.

The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe in Prosecutor General v Chiba; Sikwila v The Prosecutor General & Others; Manitho & Another v The Prosecutor General & Others; MTU Family Trust v The Prosecutor General & Others; Chidemo v The Prosecutor General SC 19-24 at para 143 define a stimulate sale in Zimbabwe as follows:

“A simulated sale is not a genuine sale. It is a device through which the parties seek to place tainted property beyond the reach of forfeiture. The purchaser, unlike the legitimate owner, will be aware that the property is tainted and merely seeks to assist the defendant by pretending to have bought the property when in reality no sale will have taken place between the parties.”