happiness ChikwanhaZvikomborero Parafini
HARARE lawyer, Obey Zimbodza, has been accused of defrauding a couple of US$22 000.
He is alleged to have posed as the legal representative of the owner of a residential stand which the couple was interested in buying.
Zimbodza appeared in court yesterday.
He allegedly duped Tinei and Judith Mashinge by inviting them to meet his accomplice, who posed as the owner of the stand, and signing an “agreement of sale” with the impostor.
It was only when they sought to transfer the property into their names that the couple realised they had been defrauded.
The court heard that sometime in March, the Mashinges identified a piece of land in Bluffhill, measuring over 1 000 square metres and expressed interest in buying it.
When they inquired about the property, Zimbodza and his accomplice, who is at large, connived to deceive them. Zimbodza allegedly invited the couple to his office with their lawyer, Itayi Ndudzo, to meet the “seller” and finalise the deal.
The couple met Zimbodza and his accomplice, who masqueraded as Cleopas Fambi, the owner of the stand.
The imposter allegedly produced an identity card with Fambi’s details and his picture, while Zimbodza produced a deed of transfer in Fambi’s name.
The couple paid US$22 000 and signed an “agreement of sale” with the impostor.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter