Online Reporter
Lesley Chikudo [email protected]
A PUMULA South woman who posed as a housing “fixer” has been thrown behind bars after fleecing another woman of US$4 100 in a fake stand deal that crumbled like a sandcastle.
Lucia Sibanda (50) will spend time in stripes after Western Commonage magistrate Mrs Learnear Khumalo slapped her with a 24-month jail sentence for fraud. But here’s the twist—8 months were suspended for 5 years on condition she keeps her hands clean, while the remaining 16 months were held off on the promise she repays US$3 400 to the duped buyer, Mrs Agnes Banda.
Sibanda won’t taste freedom until every cent is returned.
“This was not just a crime, it was calculated deception,” declared Magistrate Khumalo. “Dishonest deals like this are flooding Bulawayo, and it’s time offenders felt the sting of justice.”
According to State prosecutor Ms Mandrela Chisiiwa, the slick-tongued Sibanda pulled the con in June 2024 after convincing Mrs Banda that she had “inner connections” at Bulawayo City Council.
The bait? A housing stand for US$4 100.
The hook? A fake receipt sent via WhatsApp.
Banda, thinking she’d bagged a legit deal, handed over the full amount in instalments by July—only to be told by Cowdray Park housing officials that the receipt was as fake as a three-dollar bill.
Only US$700 has been recovered, with the balance now Sibanda’s ticket out of prison.
Justice may be delayed, but in this case, it came with a prison door slam.
