Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
A RESIDENT of Bluffhill suburb in Harare, Mike Mupinga, who gained notoriety last year when his pitbull mauled a neighbour, was back in court yesterday as a complainant, alleging that he was duped of over US$60 000 by a former friend.
The accused, Jethro Mubaiwa, did not enter a plea when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Jessie Kufa, facing charges of theft.
The court heard that on May 31 last year, Mupinga was remanded in custody on charges of culpable homicide. Prior to his imprisonment, he secured his maroon unregistered BMW X6 M Sport by locking all doors and closing all windows at his residence on Ridgeview, Belvedere, Harare.
While Mupinga was incarcerated, Mubaiwa approached Mupinga’s girlfriend, Girl Angel Chinamhora, and falsely claimed that he had been sent by Mupinga to collect several items, including the BMW, a MacBook laptop, a Phoenix cellphone, an iPhone, and cash totalling US$13 200. Under the pretext of carrying out a legitimate request, Mubaiwa was given access to these possessions, which he then converted to his own use.
Mupinga was released from remand prison on November 7. Upon returning home, he discovered that his belongings had been stolen.
After making inquiries with Chinamhora, he quickly established that Mubaiwa had orchestrated the theft and subsequently filed a report with the ZRP Mabelreign under CR 166/11/25.
On January 19 this year, detectives from the CID Vehicle Theft Squad received a tip-off indicating that Mubaiwa was located at Thuli Service Station along Ardbernie Road.
During the interview, Mubaiwa revealed that he had taken the car to a man named Kudzai Kelvin Makuyana, using it as collateral for a loan of US$3 500. He also admitted to signing an Agreement of Sale for the vehicle.
Efforts to locate Kudzai Kelvin Makuyana for the potential recovery of the stolen vehicle were unsuccessful, as it was reported that he had left the country.
Despite this setback, a copy of the Agreement of Sale was obtained and filed as part of the evidence.
The total value of the items stolen from Mupinga amounts to approximately US$60 000, with no recovery of the assets thus far.
