Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku
BULAWAYO Ward 1 Councillor, Josiah Mutangi, is sweating under the collar after provincial magistrate Richard Ramaboea threw out his bid to have some of his 14 fraud charges scrapped.
Mutangi and Janet Zhou, are accused of fleecing 14 city vendors of US$200 each after allegedly promising to fast-track the allocation of vending bays in the city centre.
The two, represented by Constance Mathaba of Makiye Law Chambers, had applied for discharge on four counts, arguing that the State failed to call key complainants. However, magistrate Ramaboea said the State had established prima facie evidence and that the pair had a case to answer.
The vendors claim they were duped after paying the duo through an association called Bulawayo City Achievers, which Mutangi founded and leads as president.
Defending himself, Mutangi told the court the vendors voluntarily paid the US$200 “joining and processing fee” after council announced that vending bays would only be given to traders linked to associations.
“Our association works hand in hand with council to support informal traders,” he said. “The problem came when some vendors refused bays at Bhakthas, insisting on Fifth Avenue. They later cried fraud when their wishes weren’t met.”
Prosecutor Brenda Nyoni tore into his defence, saying the “receipts” Mutangi produced were suspicious since the original receipt book was missing.
“There’s no proof these receipts came from the book you claim,” argued Nyoni. “You never mentioned them earlier in the trial, this is an afterthought.”
Nyoni also noted that witnesses produced a video recording of a meeting with Mutangi, which went unchallenged by the defence.
Zhou, for her part, claimed the charges were malicious and politically motivated, saying she merely referred vendors to the association offices and never handled money.
“The complainants know where their money went,” she said. “After one of them got a bay at Bhaktas, she convinced the rest to reject it — that’s when they ran to the police.”
