Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
A SLICK Harare conman who turned car rentals into his own personal car dealership has been thrown behind bars for 10 years. The 36-year-old trickster, who juggled multiple fake identities using names such as Christen Nketa, Last Mukomawasha, Eliot Mandere and Prince Chari, scammed several car hire companies in Harare by producing fake IDs, forged driver’s licences and bogus proof of residence.
Once he got his hands on the cars, according to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), he would disappear and resell them to unsuspecting buyers. In some cases, he even forged ownership documents to make the sales look legit. He pulled off at least three major vehicle scams between October and November 2024, always starting with a small deposit to win trust before vanishing with the rented vehicles.
Although sentenced to 10 years in prison, he will serve an effective 8 years behind bars. On 22 October 2024, he used a fake ID to rent a grey Honda Fit which he sold in Damafalls. The buyer got suspicious and alerted police, leading to the vehicle being recovered. On 5 November, he struck again, tricking another rental firm into releasing a Toyota Axio. He sold that car in Dema, but detectives managed to trace and recover it. His final stunt came on 13 November, when he hired a silver Honda Fit and later claimed to be in Marondera. The vehicle owner tracked it to Murisa Village in Seke, where it was recovered.
His luck ran out on 27 February this year when detectives from the CID Vehicle Theft Squad cornered him at the NSSA Building in central Harare. He tried to flee but was apprehended with the help of members of the public. A search revealed a stash of counterfeit IDs, licences and forged documents, exposing him as a one-man identity factory.
