Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Online Reporter
BULAWAYO housing agent Mr Jacob Ratabwa has denied allegations of fraud after a 27-year-old woman from Paddonhurst accused him of swindling her out of US$6,350 in a property deal.
Lynette Tshuma claims she paid for a stand in Upper Rangemore, only to discover it had been sold to someone else. However, Ratabwa’s lawyer insists his client is innocent, stating that he was acting as an intermediary in the transaction.
According to Acting Bulawayo Provincial Police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele, Ms Tshuma was shown a 250-square-metre stand priced at US$6,250 on 21 June 2024. She paid a US$1,400 deposit the following day and continued making payments totalling US$4,950, signing a sales agreement in the process.
However, her hopes were dashed when she visited the site on 25 January and found construction work already underway.
Assistant Inspector Msebele said: “The complainant discovered that the stand belonged to someone from South Africa. After confirming with the real owner, she questioned Mr Ratabwa, who provided an unsatisfactory response. A police report was filed, but no one has been arrested. The total loss is US$6,350, with no recovery.”
In an interview, Mr Ratabwa’s lawyer, Mr Wish Ndongwe of Mashayamombe and Company Attorneys, denied the fraud allegations.
“We don’t know where the allegations are coming from that Jacob Ratabwa defrauded this lady of US$6,250. He did not do that. What happened is that Lynette Tshuma bought a property which was being sold by a property company (name withheld) represented by a land developer (name withheld). Ratabwa had been given a mandate to sell this stand by the property company, so he linked them to Tshuma. An agreement of sale was drafted between Tshuma and the property company, represented by the agent,” said Mr Ndongwe.
He added: “She (Ms Tshuma) bought the property in June and was making monthly instalments to the property company. In December last year, the property company, unknown to Jacob Ratabwa, through the agent, went ahead and sold the same piece of property to another person. She was making the monthly payments through Ratabwa, and the monies were being signed for by the agent of the property company.”
Mr Ndongwe said Ms Tshuma informed Mr Ratabwa about what she found at her stand, who in turn advised her to report the matter to the police.
“To say that Jacob Ratabwa defrauded this lady is unfounded, especially since the police have not looked for him or questioned him up to now,” he said.
Mr Ndongwe said the property company had held a meeting with Ms Tshuma to resolve the matter.
“The property company then held a meeting with Lynette Tshuma and wrote emails that they copied to Jacob Properties, advising them that it was resolved that the initial beneficiary, Ms Tshuma, will be returned Stand Number 666 of Lot 14 of Upper Rangemore. If there was any wrongdoing, it was not by my client but by the property company, represented by the land developer,” he said.
The victim, Ms Tshuma, shared her side of the story, saying: “The money was paid to Jacob Ratabwa, but the person who signed for it and issued me the receipt was the agent, whose signature appeared on the document. I signed an agreement of sale on 5 July 2024 at Jacob’s office. Jacob then took the agreement to the land developer, who appended his signature, and I was given a copy. I continued paying my deposits to Jacob, and the receipts always bore the agent’s signature.”
Ms Tshuma said midway through the payments, the agent attempted to convince her to change the stand she was purchasing.
“Some lady from his office phoned me and told me what they were suggesting. I went to the viewing and saw the stand, but I didn’t like it. I flatly refused because I wanted the one, I had been paying for,” she said.
Ms Tshuma completed her payments, including a final deposit of US$240 in January. However, when she visited the site last Saturday with her builder to plan construction, she found people digging a foundation.
“I got in touch with the new buyers, and they said they bought it from the land developer in cash on 9 December 2024. The person said when they bought the stand, the owner had defaulted on payments for two years, and my issues are with the lawyers. I phoned Jacob, asking who had sold my stand to that person from South Africa,” she said.
She reported the matter to the police after Jacob Ratabwa advised her to do so.
“At the police station, I was asked if I knew the agent. I said no. They asked who I was paying the money to, and I said Jacob. That is how his name is in the docket,” said Ms Tshuma.
She said the agent later requested a meeting and proposed returning the stand to her.
“On Tuesday, he requested a meeting and said he had a proposal. He asked me to give him two days. He said he was giving me back my stand. My lawyer then said he should write a letter to that effect. So, he sent an email. My lawyer said it is not enough as he might backtrack, so he should put it in writing and sign the letter. That is when I will drop the charges that I had laid,” she said.
Ms Tshuma maintained that she did not believe Jacob Ratabwa had done anything wrong.
“I don’t see any wrongdoing that Jacob did. It’s just that he is a facilitator and I was paying my deposit to him. But all the receipts had the property company land developer’s signature, and even the agreement of sale listed him as the seller of the stand,” she said.
The land developer was unavailable for comment as his phone was off.
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