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Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
The Chitungwiza Municipality IT technician Lorrie Motsi arrested by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday appeared in court for fraudulently changing a stand ownership without the authority of the municipal council.
She altered the Chitungwiza Municipality billing system by removing the name of the legal owner and replacing it with another person who had been given the same stand illegally.
Motsi, who is facing abuse of office charges, was granted US$200 bail by Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa.
The State alleged that in 2008, Abigail Chipetekure joined United We Stand Cooperative. In 2009, after paying her subscriptions, she was allocated stand number 31307 Unit A, Seke, Chitungwiza and managed to process all the necessary paperwork with Chitungwiza Municipality and so was given an allocation letter dated 4 February 2009.
On March 4, 2009, she entered into a lease agreement with the Chitungwiza Municipality and was issued with a certificate of occupation.
From 2009, she started paying rates to Chitungwiza Municipality and did not erect any structure. But in 2016, she discovered some developments taking place on the property and she confronted the person ordering the work who told her that they were the rightful owners as they had been allocated the stand by Chitungwiza Municipality.
She proceeded to check with Chitungwiza Municipality and was advised that the stand belonged to her and that the one developing it was acting illegally.
Then sometime in September this year, she checked with Chitungwiza Municipality and discovered that the stand was now in the name of Noriji Zuze, the one who was developing the stand.
She then proceeded to report the issue to ZACC and investigations revealed that Motsi had unprocedurally made an alteration in the Chitungwiza Municipality billing system, removing Ms Chipetekure’s name and replacing it with Zuze.
Motsi made the changes without following the correct council procedure which need documents giving the reason for a system change to pass through the registry and housing departments before they reach the IT department for implementation.
There is no evidence of any documentation that necessitated the change having gone through the council system in the file of the stand in question.
Online Reporter