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TWO suspects appeared in court over the weekend to answer fraud and extortion charges involving US$11 000.
Leonard Mutandwa and Charles Chari were not asked to plead when they appeared before Harare magistrate Tafadzwa Miti.
The two were remanded in custody pending bail ruling.
The complainant is Wilbert Makonese, the co-director of Welli-Will Industries, located at No. 499 Goodwin Road, Willowvale, Harare, a company which supplies laboratories in schools.
The court heard that Makonese supplied goods worth US$392 000 to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and payment was delayed.
Makonese was in desperate need of the money in order to repay a loan his company had received from Industrial Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ).
It is the State’s case that Mutandwa heard of Makonese’s predicament and came up with a plan to defraud and extort money from him.
Mutandwa offered to assist in the early processing of the payment from the relevant Ministry.
The court heard that to gain Makonese’s trust the duo and their accomplice, Godknows Ganyani, who is on the run, introduced themselves as members of the Central Intelligence Organisation.
They allegedly told him that he needed to ‘pay something’ so that he could be assisted.
Mutandwa showed Makonese a text on Ganyani’s phone, purportedly from ‘higher offices,’ to induce him to give them money.
After succumbing to the pressure, he gave them US$1500.
It is alleged that on November 22 last year, Mutandwa duped Makonese again after misrepresenting that the ‘high office’ had directed him to donate US$10000 to a certain charity organisation.
Makonese allegedly gave Mutandwa US$4000, as the donation, accompanied by a letter addressed to the charity organisation.
They demanded US$500 claiming it was a facilitation fee and they shared the money among themselves.
Makonese was also forced to pay for Ganyani’s travel expenses from Chiredzi amounting to US$4400.
Makonese never received an acknowledgment of receipt for the donation and became suspicious.
He realised he was being duped and filed a police report.
On the extortion charge, the duo allegedly demanded US$30 000 from Makonese claiming that it was payment for having facilitated prompt payment of the money he was owed by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
Makonese never received payment from the Ministry as alleged by the duo.
The two allegedly threatened him saying that he would face unspecified action if he failed to pay them.
It is alleged they further threatened the complainant that he used them to recover his money and he was no longer willing to cooperate.
On June 22, Mutandwa went to Makonese’s office to collect the money and was arrested and he later implicated Chari, leading to his arrest.
Lancelot Mutsokoti appeared for the State.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter