adminMidlands Correspondent
A HARARE couple has started serving three years in jail each for defrauding Gweru home seekers of about $40 000 through a botched residential stands deal. The couple, Wiford Edward Nyambo (65) and wife Auxillia (50), who were represented by prominent Harare lawyer Ms Beatrice Mtetwa, had pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of fraud when they appeared before Gweru provincial magistrate, Mrs Phathekile Msipa.
Mrs Msipa, however, found the couple of Number Five Tolmers Close in Mount Pleasant, guilty of fraud and sentenced them to five years in prison each.
The couple will each serve an effective three years with hard labour after one year was suspended on condition of good behaviour.
Another year was suspended on each on condition that they restitute 11 complainants of a total amount of $39 540.
For the State, Mr Bonwell Balamanja told the court that in September 1997, the two bought a piece of land on the outskirts of Gweru from Mr Rodger Barbosar Da Sa and named it Christmas Gift Farm.
The Gweru City Council later sought a sub-division permit on the same piece of land for urban expansion purposes.
The sub-division permit does not allow a piece of land to be sub-divided into residential stands.
The couple, however, hatched a plan to swindle Gweru home seekers and placed an advertisement in the newspaper to the effect that they were selling residential stands at Christmas Gift Farm.
The court heard that Wilford and Auxillia provided an account under which 11 home seekers deposited varying amounts of between $11 000 and $15 000 after they responded to the newspaper advertisement.
The two were arrested when home seekers later reported the matter to the police after they failed to allocate them the purported stands.
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