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Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
Two company directors who are facing allegations of fraud involving over US$1 million in a botched residential stands deal have been granted U$300 bail each.
Lilan Chitanga (52), and Spencer Mabeka (45) appeared before Harare regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje on fraud charges and were remanded to October 30.
The two accused are managing director of Brickstone Builders and Contractors Private Limited.
The complainant is City of Harare director of Housing and Community Services. Prosecutor Ms Heather Muwokoto told the court that in May 2002 City of Harare approved the subdivision of a portion of land situated in Belvedere Ridge View into 52 residential stands under layout plan
TP2F 2219/3 but this plan was not implemented to date.
In 2021, the duo allegedly duped the City of Harare by allocating the land after they forged a distribution letter for approval of layout plan TP2F2291/3 dated April 20, 2021, and, an offer letter for land under Layout plan TP2F2219/3 dated April 22, 2021.
Both documents were purported to have been authored and signed by Nathan Magadizire the principal director for Physical Planning in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The court heard that the duo forged another offer letter offering their company 14.4354 hectares of land on stand numbers 18991 to 19042 under layout plan TP2F2219/3 dated December 15, 2015, purportedly authored and signed by Sibusiso Sithole as the housing director for the City of Harare.
It was alleged that with these three forged documents, the duo invaded council land and engaged an agent Properties to carry out land development for 52 residential stands measuring 2000 square meters each.
They advertised on the properties and classified website through an agent regardless that these stands were illegally developed.
Resultantly over 45 unsuspecting land seekers reached out to an agent who led them to the duo and made payments for the said stands in the range of US$25 000 to US$40 000 cash and were issued out with lease agreements and offer letters signed by the duo as the land sellers.
After purchasing the said stands from the duo , the buyers began to erect their housing structures on the said land.
According to court documents City of Harare found out about the development and demolished the structures.
The court heard that the duo rushed to the High Court of Zimbabwe and filed an urgent chamber application seeking a relief order to stop the demolitions and an interdiction to stop the council from evicting them from the said land.
In the application, the duo misrepresented to the court that they were legal owners of the said land by tendering fake allocation letter dated April 21 2021 purportedly issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
Verifications done by the council to the Ministry’s department for Spatial Planning established that the allocation letter that was presented to them before the courts by the duo was not authentic.
To date, the City of Harare is trying to recover the invaded land from the duo through civil courts. The court heard that the unsuspecting buyers are bound to lose over US$1,5 million since the City of Harare is repossessing its land and allocating it to individuals on their housing waiting list.
Online Reporter