Online Reporter
George Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
AN airtime vendor in Masvingo, who has been convicted of fraud, does not have a birth certificate or a national registration card and this has led the magistrate to order him to undergo a dental age test to estimate his age before he can be sentenced.
Ronnie Mucheme claims he is 20.
However, there is no documentary proof to back his claims either through a birth certificate or a national registration card.
He was convicted of fraud by magistrate Caroline Tafira after defrauding two people of more than US$1,600.
He used the loot to spoil himself by staying in hotels and lodges.
The magistrate could not proceed to sentence him as his age is unknown.
She ordered a dental age assessment to help her to sentence Mucheme, who remains in custody.
Mucheme was convicted of two counts of fraud.
On May 11, this year, Mucheme approached an Ecocash agent, Nickson Kwirirai, and asked him to send $1,250 to two different phone numbers.
He claimed the money was needed urgently by a prominent city businessman, who would pay it back. Kwirirai did not hesitate and proceeded to wire the money as Mucheme was a well-known airtime vendor in the city and always seen in the company of the businessman.
After Kwirirai sent the money, Mucheme could neither be contacted nor located.
While on the run, Mucheme struck again on May 31 and duped a city cellphone dealer of three mobile phones worth US$360.
He tricked the unsuspecting dealer into giving him three brand new phones after convincing her that there were three customers with cash who wanted to buy the phones.
Mucheme disappeared after receiving the three phones and a report was made to the police leading to a manhunt for him.
He was arrested on July 6 and was convicted on his own plea of guilty.
He told the court that he used his ill-gotten proceeds to spoil himself, booking in expensive lodges and hotels.
He is a well known figure in Masvingo. A few years ago, he recorded a music album and used his newly-found popularity to venture into airtime vending in the Masvingo CBD.
