Online ReporterPeter Matika, [email protected]
A 29-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo car dealer, recently sentenced to five years in prison for theft of trust funds, is now facing fresh charges of defrauding an elderly couple of a vehicle worth US$10 000.
Patson Khumalo of Pumula South suburb is alleged to have swindled the couple out of US$8 000 and an Isuzu KB in a botched car import deal.
Bulawayo provincial acting police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele, confirmed the development and said the incident occurred in June 2023.
“Khumalo allegedly promised to import a Toyota Vanguard from Japan. The US$8 000 was meant to cover the initial costs, and the couple was to top up the balance with the Isuzu vehicle, which Khumalo later also took,” she said.
Asst Insp Msebele said Khumalo later claimed the price of the Vanguard had increased and offered instead to import a Toyota RAV4.
After receiving the Isuzu vehicle, he allegedly became evasive and failed to deliver any vehicle.
She said investigations are ongoing and Khumalo is expected to appear in court once they are concluded.
Khumalo is already serving an effective five-year jail term after being convicted on two counts of theft of trust property.
The prosecutor, Mr Samuel Mpofu, said the offences were committed last year. In the first case, on April 26, 2024, Khumalo was entrusted with a Ford Ranger worth US$5 400 by Mr Alec Chayukebawa for resale. He sold the vehicle but failed to remit the proceeds to the owner.
In the second case, he committed a similar offence involving a Toyota Allion valued at US$6 400, which he received from Mr Thadeous Ndlovu. He again sold the vehicle and pocketed the money.
Bulawayo magistrate Mrs Eva Matura, who presided over the case, said Khumalo’s actions constituted a serious breach of trust that tarnished the image of car dealers in the city.
“There is a need to send a clear message to would-be offenders that trust and integrity in business must be upheld,” she said.
