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Herald Reporter
A freelance journalist who writes for an online publication, Bulawayo 24 has appeared in court on allegations of extorting US$400 from West Properties to remove a damaging article from their website.
Simbarashe Sithole was facing extortion charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa.
He was freed on $50 000 bail.
The court heard that on April 3, the accused authored and made to be published a news article on the Bulawayo 24 news website.
The article stated that the complainant was misleading investors in its bid to list on the stock exchange; a statement the complainant felt was malicious and untrue.
On April 6, Michael Chideme, the public relations manager of WestProp Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, was assigned to look into the matter as the news was detrimental to its listing.
It is the State’s case that Chideme met the accused person at Pariah State Bar along Second Street Extension in Harare to discuss the issue. The accused indicated that he was agreeable to have the offending article removed from the website but laid out some monetary conditions without specifying the amount.
It is alleged that on the same date, Chideme appraised his employers about the conditions he had been given for the article to be taken down.
Chideme’s bosses advised him to further engage the accused to establish the actual figure that he was demanding.
On April 11, Chideme went and met the accused at Total Service Station opposite the Harare Agricultural Show Grounds, along Samora Machel Avenue.
The accused person reiterated his willingness to remove the article from the website, but this time he explicitly stated that he wanted US$400.
He further stated that he had another article which he was on the verge of posting for publication, but was amenable to abort on condition that they pay another undisclosed figure.
Chideme updated his employers about the accused’s demands, who in turn resolved to report the matter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
Consequently, they mandated Chideme to report the issue to the Commission and this was done on the same date.
On March 11, a trap was set, after the approval of the Trap Authority, using US$400 in US$100 denominations. This led to the arrest of the accused person after he had received the money.
The complainant is WestProp Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, a firm that is in the business of properties and land development and is listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange. It is represented by Chideme.
Online Reporter