Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
A CAR importer has been sentenced to two years in jail for defrauding two of his relatives of US$54 560 after falsely claiming he would import vehicles from Japan, only to squander a substantial portion of the money on Aviator betting, popularly known as “kandege”.
Takudzwa Mbedzi (27) was convicted on five counts of fraud by Harare provincial magistrate Mr Artwell Sanyatwe after the court found that he deceived the complainants into believing he would purchase vehicles through SBI Japan.
Initially, Magistrate Sanyatwe sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment. One year was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour. An additional two years were suspended on condition of restitution hence, he will serve two years.
Prosecutor Ms Dzidzai Josiah told the court that between June 2025 and January 2026, Mbedzi received money on several occasions from his uncle by marriage, Roy Kagoro, a Harare car dealer, for the purchase of various vehicles, including Nissan NV350s, Honda Shuttles and Toyota Town Ace vehicles.
Instead of buying the vehicles, Mbedzi allegedly misrepresented that payments had been made and repeatedly assured Kagoro that the vehicles were awaiting collection or had arrived at Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania.
He did not provide proof of payment and continued to offer excuses when questioned about the delays.
The deception got exposed after Mbedzi admitted that he had used part of the money and claimed he was looking for funds to pay storage fees.
However, investigations revealed that the alleged shipping agents had been coached by Mbedzi to mislead the complainant and that no vehicles had ever been purchased.
Kagoro lost a total of US$42 660, comprising US$14 560, US$15 600 and US$12 500 paid in separate transactions. None of the money was recovered.
In the remaining counts, another relative, Energy Kufandirori, also a car dealer, entrusted Mbedzi with US$11 900 to import two vehicles, including a Honda Fit.
Mbedzi allegedly issued a receipt bearing an account number but no bank name before failing to deliver the vehicles.
Kufandirori later travelled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, hoping to collect the vehicles himself, only to discover that no purchases had been made.
Investigations established that Mbedzi had converted the money to his own use, with the court hearing that a significant portion was lost through Aviator betting. The total prejudice amounted to US$54 560.
