Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
A HARARE man has appeared in court for allegedly defrauding a Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) national of US$19 000 in a bogus fuel tanker deal.
Tryson Mapinde (32) appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Ruth Moyo facing fraud charges.
He was remanded in custody to Tuesday for his bail application.
The complainant, Salomon Fukamolo, is a DRC resident who allegedly met Mapinde in Harare’s central business district in 2024 while looking for a fuel tanker to export to his country.
The State alleges that Mapinde misrepresented to Fukamolo that he was in possession of a fuel tanker which he was selling on behalf of Estrama Investments (Pvt) Ltd under a certificate of appointment.
Mapinde allegedly told Fukamolo that the tanker was being sold for US$12 000.
The complainant allegedly became interested in the deal and, between January 27 and March 6, 2024, paid Mapinde a total of US$12 000 through Western Union money transfers and cash.
The State further alleges that Mapinde subsequently advised Fukamolo to pay duty for the tanker.
On May 11, 2024, Fukamolo allegedly paid US$7 000 to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) towards duty.
After receiving the money, Mapinde allegedly disposed of the tanker to an unknown destination instead of handing it over to the complainant.
Fukamolo then sent a driver from the DRC to Zimbabwe to collect the tanker, but Mapinde allegedly failed to deliver it and started giving various excuses before cutting off communication with him.
The complainant subsequently realised that he had allegedly been duped and reported the matter to the police on August 19, 2026.
The State alleges that the total prejudice is US$19 000 and nothing has been recovered.
