daniel chigunwe
Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
A director of a real estate company yesterday appeared in court for allegedly making a client pay US$40 000 for a residential stand that had already been bought by someone else.
Tulphire Properties (Private) Limited and it’s director Christina Ziki were charged with fraud before Harare magistrate Mr Dennis Mangosi and were remanded to November 23.
Prosecuting, Mr Zebediah Bofu alleged that sometime in February last year, the Muslim Kamunhu wanted to buy a residential stand and was referred to Ziki. However, Ziki allegedly lied that she was selling stand 951/921 of Manresa Township, Harare, measuring 2 700 square meters.
Ziki took Ms Kamunhu to the stand, and after the viewing told her the purchase price was US$40 000. The two agreed on payment terms and on March 24 last year, Ms Kamunhu made an initial payment of US$20 000 and an agreement of sale was signed. The balance was paid in instalments from 27 April last year to February this year with US$39 383 paid and only US$617 still outstanding.
The court heard during the month of March this year Ziki contacted Ms Kamunhu advising her that she had been shown a wrong stand. Ziki told her that the stand she viewed had already been sold to someone else and she wanted to allocate her another stand. Ziki went on to show her another stand in Chikurubi area which is not worth the amount she had paid.
This when Ms Kamunhu realised that she had been duped and she eventually filed a police report.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter