adminHonest Chatikobo and his wife Mrs Chatikobo as first, second and third defendants. The defendants entered an appearance to defend on October 26, but a trial date has not yet been advised.
Through legal practitioners Hogwe, Dzimirai and Partners, Mr Machiwenyika is now demanding US$45 000 reimbursement after recovering part of the money.
Mr Machiwenyika said he had been given a Nissan Hardbody at a price of US$17 000 and successive US$1 000 payments, but has failed to recover the balance.
Claims against Mr Chatikobo, a prominent elder with Zaoga Church, rose after he canvassed for investment from church members, promising to reward them through lucrative returns. “Mr Chatikobo preached in the church, where he is an elder, about investment benefits if someone invested in the company. My sister (Mrs Nyathi) invested there. After about three months, she showed me evidence that she was earning 10 percent compound interest per month. She then gave me Mr Chatikobo’s phone number so that I could confirm directly with him on the security of my investment if I was to invest,” said Mr Machiwenyika.
On enquiry, Mr Machiwenyika said that he had discovered that Paramount Holdings was charging 45 percent per month on the loans advanced mostly to civil servants.
Against this background, on October 1, 2011, Mr Machiwenyika invested US$26 600 at 10 percent per month, US$23 000 on May 31, 2012, and US$10 000 on June 18, this year all at the same rate of investment.
This was after Mr Machiwenyika had sold two houses in the leafy suburbs of Harare to invest with Paramount Holdings.
“On July 1, when I visited Paramount to collect my monthly interest, I was told that the company had no money.
“After six days. I received a message from Paramount stating that they had been ordered by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to close their doors to the public,” he said.
Officials from the central bank advised Mr Machiwenyika that he could only recover his investments by seeking legal recourse.
After teaming up with other investors thought to be owed more than US$2 million, Mr Machiwenyika was allegedly contacted by the founding director of Paramount and was given the Nissan Hardbody at an agreed price of US$17 000 as part payment.
Promises of US$5 000 as further payment on October 2, 2012, have not been honoured, prompting the ongoing legal efforts.
It is believed that other church members who had invested with Zaoga are owed more than US$2 million and are mulling joint action to recover it. Mr Machiwenyika claims that Mr Chatikobo did not disclose all his assets when he promised to liquidate some of them to settle the liabilities, raising fears he might be planning to absond.
A similar fate recently befell other investors with money-lending companies such as All Angels and McDowell’s, who are still in the process of reimbursing investors.
Online Reporter