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A 74-YEAR-OLD Gweru man has been sentenced to 5 years in jail for stealing residential stands from River Valley Properties and selling them to unsuspecting buyers, prejudicing the company of US$85 000.
Mugeza Hove from Hertfordshire suburb along with his agent, Orapen Chikoore, were convicted of multiple counts of theft of stands by Zvishavane regional magistrate Mr Sangster Tavengwa
Hove had appointed Chikoore as an agent to sell the River Valley Properties stands through his company, Otichmar Investments. The pair was convicted after a full trial.
Hove was sentenced to 5 years in prison, with 12 months suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour. An additional 18 months were suspended on the condition that he performs 630 hours of community service at Thornhill Airbase.
The remaining 30 months were suspended on the condition that he restitutes US$85 000 to the complainant by February 27.
Chikoore, on the other hand, was fined US$2 000, to be paid by January 31.
The court heard that Hove had benefited from stands allocated under the Government’s commonage facility after his late brother’s farm was repossessed for urban expansion. Property developer River Valley Properties developed the farm, but Hove illegally sold some of the company’s stands to unsuspecting clients.
According to the state outline, in 2017, Hove engaged Otichmar Investments to sell his commonage stands in Hertfordshire suburb. He provided the company with a list of stands to sell, which included stands belonging to River Valley Properties.
The scam was uncovered when River Valley Properties realised that Hove was selling its stands and reported the matter to the police.
Ms Vivian Chindedza prosecuted the case.
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