Five men from Caledonia appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court last Friday facing fraud allegations after they sold non-existent residential stands to a police officer.
BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE
The five, Arthur Chidenhe (23), Kelvin Museti (23), Stephen Mashingaidze (31) and Life Majungura (26) were granted $50 bail each by Harare magistrate, Gamuchirai Siwardi, who remanded them to December 15.
According to the State, on a date unknown to the prosecutor, but in October this year, the complainant, Frank Masuka was approached who was the chief executive officer of a company which sells residential stands around the country.
At a later date, during the same month the allegedly accompanied by Chidenhe and Museti, held a meeting with Masuka at Chikurubi Support Unit, where the trio offered to sell Masuka 30 residential stands at Eastview Phase 5 Extension.
On October 7, Masuka allegedly entered into an agreement with the suspects and paid $9 690 in cash and real-time gross settlement and 30 stands were released to him.
On November 1, the same stands allocated to Masuka were claimed by other people, who produced cards from the State-run Urban Development Corporation (Udcorp) as proof of ownership of the stands.
Masuka then approached Museti and they all went to the Ministry of Local Government for verification, where they were told the stands in question were registered and owned by other people.
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On noting that he had been duped, he reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of Mironga and Mutesi who then implicated Chidenhe, Mashingaidze and Majungura.
The State alleges the total value prejudiced was $9 690 and nothing was recovered.
Peter Kachirika appeared for the State.
