Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube
IF audacity were a crime on its own, Farai Tarera Mupedzisi (63) from Bulawayo’s Barbourfields suburb would already be serving a life sentence.
This is the tale of a man whose moral compass may be missing, whose conscience may be deader than a dodo and whose respect for both the law and family appears to be exactly zero.
Mupedzisi was not asked to plead when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mark Dzira, facing fraud charges. He allegedly scammed not one but two police officers, including his own niece. Yes, his niece. Blood ties meant nothing. Police uniform meant nothing either.
Mupedzisi was remanded out of custody to 6 February.
Prosecutor Hazel Ncube told the court that on 22 March 2024, Mupedzisi rocked up at his niece Wadzanai Sibanda’s home with a smooth mouth and a sharp tongue, claiming he had cattle for sale. Sibanda paid US$200 as half payment for a cow and was told to settle the balance a week later.
When she tried to contact him to pay the balance, Mupedzisi suddenly developed selective hearing. Phones went off. Calls were dodged. Excuses multiplied like flies on a carcass.
Police investigations followed and Mupedzisi was arrested. The amount defrauded in that incident was US$200 and, unsurprisingly, nothing was recovered.
It turned out that Mupedzisi was just warming up.
In another incident in August 2025, Mupedzisi allegedly turned his con skills to full volume. He accepted US$2 600 from Nobert Sibanda, another cop, as part payment for a herd of 10 cattle. Mupedzisi said the balance of US$1 700 would be paid upon collection. When the complainant started asking questions, Mupedzisi again went into professional excuse mode.
The complainant eventually phoned Mupedzisi’s sister, who dropped a bombshell. The cattle were not for sale. They belonged to the family trust inherited from their late father.
So much for family values.
In court, Nobert detailed a long cattle buying saga that reads like a masterclass in confidence tricks. He said he first bought a heifer for US$300 from Mupedzisi and collected it without problems.
When Mupedzisi came to him with a story of an “urgent funeral” that required him to sell a herd “very fast,” he swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Ten heifers for sale. Urgent money needed. Nobert paid US$1 000 upfront. Promises were made. Dates were set. He did not know that Mupedzisi whose name means “one who finishes,”was waiting to finish him off.
Nobert was later shown 15 cattle priced at US$4 300 and paid more money at Mupedzisi’s sister’s guest lodge. Another US$300 was later requested and paid.
Collection day arrived. Mupedzisi suddenly claimed he was busy with national duty as a soldier.
By 4 September, the truth surfaced. No cattle were for sale. All belonged to the family trust.
In total, Nobert lost US$2 600. Nothing was recovered.
Conning cops. Conning family. Selling cattle that were never his. The courts will decide if this was a lapse in judgment or a full time career in shamelessness.
