Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
THE trial of three men accused of attempting to defraud a private security firm of US$190 000 through an Internet banking scam continued yesterday with an Econet agent narrating how desperate the accused persons were to replace a sim card linked to Real Star Security company’s Nostro account.
Manase Manjovha (40), Glandstone Mthulisi Tshabalala (39) and Dalumuzi Moyo (47), all from Bulawayo, appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Tilda Mazhande facing charges of fraud involving a sophisticated digital banking plot targeting Real Star Security.
Responding to a question while being led by the State on how he knows the accused persons in the dock, the agent Mr Taurai Mushambi said he knew trio only in connection with a simcard replacement.
He said he was first approached by Moyo, who said he wanted to replace his father’s sim card on September 12 2024.
“I told him it is not allowed to replace a sim card in the absence of its owner and he offered me US$50 to do the job and I refused,” he said.
Mr Mushambi told the court that Moyo returned moments later in the company of Tshabalala and Manjovha and he indicated that he had brought the owner, referring to the latter.
“I then requested the contact number of the sim card that he intended to replace and observed that the face on the identification card he gave me did not match that of the owner of the sim card and I started suspecting that the three were up to no good,” he said.
Mr Mushambi said he tried to call the line that the trio wanted to replace and the phone rang.
He told the court that the call was answered by someone and he asked if everything was okay with his line and the person replied that all was well then he hung up.
“I then went to the nearest police officers to report the trio, but when I returned, they had disappeared,” he said.
He said after a few days, someone approached him saying he had been sent by Manjovha to collect the sim card and an identification card.
Mr Mushambi said the person also offered him US$50 and he quickly rushed to the police and informed them that the trio had sent someone to collect the sim card.
The police came to the scene and arrested him. The matter was deferred to May 21 when the trial will continue.
Ms Heather Mhlanga appeared for the State while Mr Shingirai Ngorima testified on behalf of the complainant.
According to the State, the scheme was orchestrated in September 2024 when Manjovha received a call from his friend, Mlungisi Ndlovu — a suspected serial fraudster believed to be hiding in South Africa.
Ndlovu allegedly told Manjovha he had obtained the mobile banking login credentials of Real Star Security, as well as a Zimbabwean national identity card belonging to the company director.
To execute the plan, Ndlovu reportedly suggested that they also needed the Econet mobile line linked to the company’s Nostro account to generate a one-time password (OTP) required to authorise large online banking transactions.
On September 3, Manjovha and his co-accused allegedly received the company director’s ID card, which Ndlovu had sent by bus from South Africa.
On September 12, the trio approached an Econet agent, Mr Mushambi, requesting a SIM replacement for the company director’s mobile line.
Though they didn’t collect the line themselves, they allegedly sent an accomplice, Jeff Chipwanyira, to pick it up.
However, Mr Mushambi became suspicious and alerted the police, leading to Chipwanyira’s arrest.
He later cooperated with investigators and helped set up a trap for the suspects. The next day, on September 13, police arrested Manjovha, Tshabalala and Moyo in Norton.
The trial was reignited after Real Star Security complained to the Prosecutor General’s Office on April 29, citing frustration over delays in the case.
In response, Mrs Tafadzwa Havazvidi of the Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed on May 8 that investigations into the delays were underway and that the complainant would be informed of the outcome.
