Controversial‘public company’ WestProp’s presence on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VEFX) has produced a simple, stubborn fact, zero shares traded from inception to date.
No volume. No turnover. No price discovery.
For a public listing, this is not just unusual it is a fundamental failure of purpose.
A stock exchange exists to enable trading.
When a company lists and nothing trades for years, the inevitable question arises, was the listing meant to create a market, or merely the appearance of one?
At the same time, WestProp’s CEO Kenneth Raydon Sharpe a controversial businessman is pursuing urgent court action against The Harare Times, seeking to restrain publication linked to him or his company.
To critics, the contrast is striking, aggressive legal action against media scrutiny, but complete silence on a dormant stock listing.
Accused of profiting from his political connections and despoiling the natural environment, Sharpe is battling it out in court with two of his most prominent critics former finance minister Tendai Biti and former opposition MP for Harare North, Allan ‘Rusty’ Markham.
Investors are left with no way to enter or exit. Valuation is theoretical.
Transparency is absent. Yet the listing remains.
If trades have occurred, they should be published. If none have occurred, the public deserves a clear explanation. Markets do not run on silence, and credibility does not survive unanswered questions.
You can’t muzzle the media for you to paint a good picture on a non moving entity.
A public listing without a public market is not confidence-building. It is confidence-eroding.
Until clarity is provided, WestProp’s VFEX listing stands as an uncomfortable symbol of a deeper problem when listings exist, but markets do not.
West Properties, previously known as Augur Investments, generated controversy when it listed on the VFEX in April due to ongoing court cases.
Augur Investments had acquired vast tracts of land from the Harare City Council (HCC) as partial payment for an unfinished project involving the construction of the Harare Airport Road.
Augur formed a joint venture with the council called Sunshine Property Development, which was granted significant land in Harare.
However, the properties are now listed on the VFEX without the involvement or knowledge of the local authority.
According to the joint venture agreement, Augur controls 70% of the shares and was responsible for providing capital for Sunshine’s projects, while the council was to provide land and retain a 30% shareholding.
In 2007, Sharpe through a briefcase company called Augur Investments, entered into an agreement with the City of Harare to construct a 20km Airport Road.
According to a 2010 City of Harare special investigations audit report, Augur Investments was awarded the Harare Airport Road contract without going through the tender process.
The project was never completed, and the government later took over the project.
As part of the agreement, Augur Investments was given land in Pomona, near Borrowdale, by the City of Harare as security, in a project which he just constructed a 2.5km stretch using a company called Fairclot Investments which he also never paid for the work done.
According to High Court papers, the 273 hectares of prime land in Harare’s Pomona suburb is worth US$205 million which was undervalued and critics say it was undervalued at US$20 million
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume in 2024 announced that the local authority will launch an investigation into how some of its assets were included in the portfolio of West Properties, on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), with the council’s approval.
At the time Mafume expressed concern that the council had not been informed about the inclusion of Sunshine assets in West Properties’ portfolio. He emphasized that such matters should have been discussed by council committees and brought to the attention of the full council.
He indicated that he would request the town clerk to assess whether the council’s interests were being protected in the Sunshine deal. If not, the council would seek legal advice to safeguard its interests and those of the residents.
Sharpe is now planning to buyout City of Harare from the Sunshine Development deal without the knowledge of residents, according to several communications and correspondence at hand.
The legal move by Ken Sharpe arise after an article was published on The Harare Times site citing residents’ concern over lack of proper documentation and their fear of demolition of their properties.
The news article stated how residents at one of the company’s flagship projects at Pokugara located in Borrowdale were up in arms with the company over several news articles suggesting that homes might be demolished over lack proper documentation.
According to a letter dated 28 October 2025, Pokugara Residents Association chairperson, Ian Ginio Tafireyi demanded for clarification and assurance from the controversial company.
I am writing to you in my capacity as the Residents Chairperson of Pokugara Estate, a development that was marketed and sold to us as a premium gated community.
Our attention has been drawn to a highly disturbing publication by Harare Times, which alleges that our homes are under threat of demolition due to the irregular and illegal establishment of the estate.
We were shocked and alarmed to learn that your company, West Prop, may have failed to comply with the requisite legal requirements in establishing this development.
This concern is further exacerbated by a Facebook video titled “Land baron Kenneth Raydon Sharpe’s houses face demolition” posted on a page with 68 thousand followers”, Tafireyi wrote to Sharpe and Pokugara.
Tafireyi also highlighted that the news has added anxiety and uncertainty among homeowners at the Estate.
“The widespread dissemination of this information has only added to the anxiety and uncertainty among homeowners.
As homeowners we have invested millions of United States dollars in our properties. The anxiety and uncertainty created by these allegations are unacceptable, and we demand immediate action”, said Tafireyi.
The residents further ordered the the company to provide report and threatened take action in protecting their interests.
“We expect an urgent response and resolution to this matter. You are required to provide us with a detailed report on the actions you will take to address these allegations and ensure the security of our investments.
We expect a response within the next 48 hours.
If we do not receive a satisfactory response, we will be forced to take collective action to protect our interests”, Tafireyi’s letter reads.
Sharpe is currently using fraudulent means to list land he doesn’ own at the Victoria falls, where his company West Properties has failed to gain attraction or sale a shares for the past 2 years.
