WOMAN LOSES US$4,7K TO BOGUS LAWYER

H-Metro Reporter

A WOMAN is counting her costs after she was allegedly defrauded of US$4700 by a bogus lawyer in a botched residential stand deal.

Rebbeca Mushipe said Anna Musarurwa posed as a lawyer and a stands agent.

She said Musarurwa told her she had some residential stands she was allocating in Ruwa’s Solomio area. Mushipe approached the Law Society of Zimbabwe to establish if Musarurwa was a lawyer.

“We refer to the above and your letter of the 1st of July 2021,” read a response from the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

“Please be advised that Anna Musarurwa is not a registered legal practitioner.

“She is not a member of the Law Society and she is not permitted to practice law or to hold herself out as a lawyer as such conduct amounts to contravention of Section 9 and Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act (Chapter 27:07].

“The above person’s conduct thus falls outside our jurisdiction in respect of any prejudice arising from her alleged conduct.

“In light of the above, you are hereby encouraged to pursue the remedies available to you at law. You are also at liberty to report the said person to the nearest Police for her prosecution for contravention of the above-specified sections of the Legal Practitioners Act.”

Mushipe filed a case against Musarurwa at Ruwa Police Station.

“I visited all the places she is saying there are stands but nothing tangible is there.

“She even admitted that there are no stands and she has been promising to refund me but to no avail. We went to the police together and she promised to give me other stands in Nyabira area but it appears there is nothing authentic there.

“She demanded payment in installments, often changing the amount and terms mid-transaction.”

She added:

“At first, I had paid for a 300 square metre stand, which was going for US$5000, but I did not like the space as it was not pegged nor developed. I then requested for another one but Musarurwa showed me a 1000 square metre stand for US$10 000 but she kept on changing the price of that particular stand,” she said.