A troubling new scam has emerged in Harare, where land barons are reportedly impersonating senior city council officials through fake WhatsApp accounts to dupe unsuspecting residents seeking residential stands.
The fraudsters attach photographs of legitimate council officials to fictitious phone numbers and engage in elaborate conversations among themselves, creating the illusion that victims are communicating directly with housing authorities. Once trust is established, they solicit money from desperate home-seekers.
Harare City Council’s principal housing director, Edgar Dzehonye, and former town clerk, Phakamile Mabhena, have since filed a complaint with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) after being implicated in a separate fraud scheme by land barons who provided false information to police.
The complaint, registered under case number 008671, follows fraud allegations levelled against Desmond Rutsito (42) and Leeroy Manyange (28), who allegedly told police that Dzehonye and Mabhena were at large and had connived with Calisto Murambatsina of Haider Enterprises and, separately, with Munyaradzi Chikusvu to defraud complainants of approximately US$151 000.
Through their lawyers, Tsunga Bamu Law International, the two council officials flatly denied the allegations, stating they have no knowledge of the complainants and have never been involved with them in any capacity.
They have urged Zacc to open a fraud case against Rutsito and Manyange. The impersonation scandal is the latest tactic in a worsening crisis of land barons wreaking havoc across the capital, where illegal land sales have become rampant.
Harare has seen a proliferation of informal settlements and illegal allocations, with land barons often targeting vulnerable residents desperate for housing in the city's high-demand suburbs.
The problem has persisted despite government crackdowns and repeated warnings from city authorities.
In many cases, victims hand over life savings only to discover that the land either does not exist or belongs to the council, leaving them with no legal recourse.
Dzehonye expressed shock at the scale of the deception and the lengths to which land barons are willing to go.
"I was surprised to see in a newspaper that me and Mr Mabhena were at large. I interact with law enforcement daily and assist them on various matters," he told Standard People on Friday.
"They are using a new trick impersonating council officials by attaching our photographs to fictitious WhatsApp numbers, then using those accounts to solicit money from unsuspecting members of the public.
“They will be making conversation among themselves, showing unsuspecting residents that they are speaking to Dzehonye and the town clerk using our profiles."
Dzehonye urged Harare residents to exercise extreme caution and report any suspicious approaches to law enforcement agents.
"At this point, I would like to warn residents in Harare to be wary of such characters and report them to law enforcement agents. These people should be arrested at all cost because they can tarnish our image," he said.
Council officials have repeatedly advised the public to verify any offers of land through official channels and warned that no legitimate council representative would solicit payments via WhatsApp.
Zacc has not yet indicated whether it will act on the complaint filed by the two officials.
Meanwhile, police are understood to be investigating the impersonation claims as the city grapples with a land baron crisis that continues to victimise thousands of residents.