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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
FORMER Mpopoma-Pelandaba MDC-T Member of Parliament, Samuel Sandla Khumalo allegedly swindled a desperate Bulawayo homeseeker of R17,000 a magistrate heard yesterday.
Khumalo, 51, of Pelandaba suburb who appeared before Tinashe Tashaya facing fraud charges, pleaded not guilty.
He was remanded out of custody to tomorrow for trial.
Prosecuting, Busani Moyo said sometime in December 2012, Mossel Daniel Ndlovu of Iminyela suburb, but is based in South Africa, approached Khumalo who was the MP of the area at the time and asked him to assist him to acquire a residential stand.
“Khumalo offered to help Ndlovu promising him that he would approach relevant authorities at the Bulawayo City Council to allocate him a stand,” said Moyo.
The court heard that on January 2, 2013, Ndlovu gave Khumalo R17,000 so that he could pay for the stand.
Khumalo then gave Ndlovu a waiting list form so that he could fill in his personal details, promising to speed up the process.
Instead of buying the stand, Khumalo pocketed the money. When Ndlovu later enquired about the residential stand, Khumalo kept evading him and giving him flimsy excuses, which prompted Ndlovu to make a police report that led to Khumalo’s arrest
Khumalo lost the 2013 MDC-T primary polls for Pelandaba-Mpopoma in elections that he claimed were rigged.
He went on to contest as an independent candidate in that year’s general elections and lost to the MDC-T’s Bekithemba Nyathi.
Online Reporter