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Woman jailed for land fraud

News
A 55-YEAR-OLD Epworth woman was on Monday sentenced to five years in prison after she was convicted of defrauding several people of $18 223 through the sale of residential stands over which she had no ownership.

A 55-YEAR-OLD Epworth woman was on Monday sentenced to five years in prison after she was convicted of defrauding several people of $18 223 through the sale of residential stands over which she had no ownership.

Senior Reporter

Sheila Mambo will, however, serve an effective two-year jail sentence after magistrate Miriam Banda  suspended one year on condition that she would not commit a similar offence in the next five years and another two years were set aside on condition she paid restitution to her victims.

Mambo was convicted on 11 of the 12 counts of fraud as defined under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

In the first count, Mambo was approached by Happiness Tambure on January 17 last year after the latter had heard that she was selling residential stands.

After Mambo, who was employed by the Epworth Local Board, confirmed that she was selling stand number 9538 at Glenwood Park in Epworth for $1 000, Tambure paid $250 as a deposit and then later paid $300 and other installments totaling $1 000.

Mambo later demanded a further payment of $237 for services rates, a plan and pit sand before ordering him to give the money to her husband, Jabulani, who is still at large.

In February last year, she was approached by Douglas Masoka who was also in need of a residential stand and accepted his payment of $4 000, which was paid in instalments, for a subdivision of stand number 553 Makomo Original in Epworth.

She then gave Masoka a memorandum of agreement of sale, but started giving excuses after Masoka requested that there be an official change of ownership.

When Mambo remained reluctant, Masoka approached the Epworth Local Board where he was told the stand did not belong to Mambo.

Soon afterwards, Mambo sold another stand to Olivia Norah Tsikai for $1 000 and demanded an additional $237 which she said was for the plan, service charges, concrete stones and river sand.

Using the same plan, Mambo defrauded several other people of a total of $11 749.