dyton mupawaenda
Zvikomborero Parafini
A Harare car dealer is counting his losses after being duped by a bogus dealer whom he paid over US$50 000 to clear five trucks at the South African border.
The suspect, Tichaona Mupo Mhlakaza, appeared in court over the weekend but was not asked to plead. He is expected back in court today for a bail hearing.
Prosecutors allege that in January last year, Mr Peter Sine bought four tipper trucks in Durban, South Africa, with the intention of bringing them into Zimbabwe.
He started looking for assistance with the customs clearance process.
In the same month, he engaged Mhlakaza, who had claimed to be a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) agent.
Mhlakaza allegedly said he could facilitate the clearance of the trucks for a total cost of US$52 792.
On January 20, Mhlakaza sent Mr Sine a proof of payment, claiming that he had already paid the customs duty, which amounted to ZiG1 626 000, through a ZIMRA agent named Globetrek Logistics.
That same day, the two met at the corner of Leonard Brezhnev Street and Kwame Nkurumah Avenue in Harare around noon, where Mr Sine made the payment of US$52 792 to Mhlakaza.
On February 2 this year, Mr Sine checked with ZIMRA to confirm if the payment had been completed, only to discover that the money had not been paid as indicated in the proof of payment Mhlakaza provided.
When Mr Sine followed up with Mhlakaza, he failed to provide satisfactory answers, and allegedly began to implicate someone called Lloyd Mawadze, whom Mr Sine did not know, as the person responsible for the transaction and the originator of the fake proof of payment.
Realising he had been duped, Mr Sine filed a police report, leading to Mhlakaza’s arrest.
No funds have been recovered so far.
Online Reporter
Such criminals must rot in prison. Can anyone imagine the toil we go through to put this money together only for someone to get it for free? Justice must look at the victim too. This idea of corrective justice that encourages criminals to go to jail so that they come out educated and trained while the victim continues to suffer must be reviewed. Justice in this country is not justice at all.