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Herald Reporter
A HARARE man who lost two vehicles in a botched transaction under which he was supposed to get a residential stand in Ashdown Park, Harare, will know next week if he will be allowed to retake possession of his vehicles which are being held as exhibits in an investigation into suspected fraud.
The complainant lodged an application at the Harare Magistrates Court seeking release of the two vehicles, a Toyota Hiace Quantum and a Honda Airwave, which have been at Police Commercial Crime Division for the past three years as investigations into the matter were being conducted.
The complainant was allegedly duped by two men, Calvin Marimo and Temba Dzamwarira, who failed to transfer ownership of the residential stand despite receiving full payment for it.
The complainant made the application for the release of the exhibits before Harare Magistrate Ruth Moyo who yesterday postponed the ruling to May 12, 2023.
This was after the State requested to summon Marimo to court for the last time. It is the fifth time Marimo, who was the third accused in the criminal proceedings, has been summoned to court but he has not been cooperating.
It is the State’s case that sometime in 2020, Calvin Marimo and Temba Dzamwarira were arrested facing fraud charges involving US$16 000.
Allegations were that the duo misrepresented to the complainant that they were the rightful owners of a residential land in Ashdown Park.
The complainant became interested in the stand deal and agreed with Marimo to swap the stand with his two vehicles. The court heard that Marimo then told the complainant that the stands were registered under the company, Suastar Africa (Pvt) Ltd. He claimed he had acquired the land from the firm.
An agreement of sale was signed with Temba Dzamwarira as witness and Silvester Maruza signing on behalf of Suastar Africa. He handed over the two vehicles in exchange for the stand.
After about a week, the complainant went to the stand intending to put a structure, but to his surprise he was prohibited by security guards from doing so.
The guards told the complainant that Suastar had no residential stand in Ashdown Park and the stands belonged to Rawson Properties.
He asked Marimo about the development and was referred to Dzamwarira and Suastar Company. Suastar Africa Pvt Ltd however distanced themselves from the disposal of exibits after they indicated that they never took custody of them.
The complainant reported the matter to the police leading to Marimo’s arrest.
After a full trial, the magistrate acquitted Marimo, Dzamwarira and Suastar Company.
In her ruling, magistrate Ruth Moyo said the State was supposed to wait for the High Court’s determination concerning the same matter, before charging Marimo and Dzamwarira with fraud. She said there was no misrepresentation as pointed out by the State.
“They themselves did not know who owns the piece of land in question, and accused is among people asserting ownership of the land,” ruled the magistrate.
Online Reporter