by Desmond Chingarande
A BOGUS lawyer, Descent Moyo, who allegedly masqueraded as a housing estate agent, was nabbed last week and brought to court on charges of duping a Harare property owner of his money after being hired to collect rent from a truant tenant.
Moyo, who runs an unregistered legal aid firm, Global Justice Legal Aid, was granted $100 bail and remanded to February 22 when he appeared before magistrate Tracy Muzondo facing theft of trust property charges.
Moyo’s luck ran out after he was engaged by a Harare property owner, Josphat Gwanganga to collect rental arrears from a truant tenant in the central business district.
It is alleged that Moyo prepared fake court documents and sought the services of the Messenger of Court to attach the tenant’s property for sale to recover the debt.
Instead of handing over the money to the complainant, Moyo converted the money to his own use.
The complainant then wrote to the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) to establish if Moyo was a registered lawyer and discovered that he was not.
“Be advised that Global Justice Law Company is not a law firm and their members are not registered with us. We have no jurisdiction over their operations. However, we will use this information for purposes of their prosecution for violating the Legal Practitioners Act (Chapter 27:07).You can also report them to the police for prosecution with regards to their fraudulent activities,” the LSZ wrote.
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Gwanganga then confronted Moyo, who claimed his organisation was an insurance company. It is alleged the complainant approached the Insurance and Pension Commission (Ipec) to verify the report, but they disowned him.
Armed with the letters from the LSZ and Ipec, Gwanganga reported the matter to the police, leading to Moyo’s arrest.
Tapiwa Zvidzai represented the State.
