Gweru property dealer jailed over US$31K housing scam

A GWERU-BASED property dealer, Bhekhithemba Sibanda, his company SIBBS Properties (Pvt) Ltd, and co-accused Tinashe Nyakuseka have been found guilty of duping home seekers of over US$31 000 in a housing stands scam.

Sibanda and Nyakuseka appeared before Gweru provincial magistrate Mr Sam Chitumwa facing fraud charges.

They pleaded not guilty but were convicted after a full trial. The State, led by prosecutor Mr Brandon Ndlovu, successfully proved that the accused operated a calculated fraud scheme targeting unsuspecting home seekers.

The court heard that between 2017 and 2023, Sibanda and his accomplices fraudulently sold residential stands in Fortune Meadowlands Park, fully aware that the land belonged to the estate of the late Isaiah Mudzengi.

Victims, including Felis Mutonga, Primrose Makotore, Trymore Desmond Mutero, Samson Chikwanda, Dyke Zamai, Sawssanah Mapfumo and Nisbert Marufu, were prejudiced of amounts ranging from US$2 000 to over US$5 000.

In one instance, Mutonga paid US$3 400 for Stand Number 2523, while Makotore lost about US$4 000 after being promised Stand Number 2131. None of the complainants received the land they had paid for.

The court found that the accused had deliberately misrepresented ownership, inducing victims to part with money under false pretenses and in some counts alternatively faced theft charges after receiving payments without delivering either land or refunds.

Sibanda was convicted on counts 1, 2, 9, 10, and 11, while being acquitted on the remaining counts, with the five counts treated as one for sentencing purposes.

He was fined US$4 500 or five months imprisonment in default, and further sentenced to an effective 47 months imprisonment, of which 10 months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.

The remaining 32 months were suspended on condition that he restitutes the complainants in full.
SIBBS Properties (Pvt) Ltd was also fined US$500 with the court ordering that its assets be attached and sold should it fail to meet restitution obligations, while Nyakuseka, who represented the company, was fined US$500 or five months’ imprisonment.

An additional 10-month prison term was suspended for five years on condition he does not commit offences involving dishonesty.

The court further ruled that Sibanda and SIBBS Properties are jointly and severally liable for restitution, meaning payment by one party absolves the other.

The court heard that first and number 11 complainants are not related to the accused persons.
The accused persons faced 11 counts of fraud being alleged that sometime between the years 2019 and 2022, various properties namely stand numbers 2523, 2158, 2159, 2131, 2107, 2348, 2472, 2494, 2495, 2244, 2162, and 2109 Fortune Meadowlands Park, Gweru were sold to the complainants by Sibanda and Nyakuseka.

The total value of the stands is US$31 135.00.