Real Estate Company Faces Fraud Charges for Allegedly Selling Bulawayo City Council-Owned Property
Landwey Construction Private Limited has been taken to court facing charges of fraud for allegedly selling a residential stand belonging to the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) on Friday last week.
Represented by Vainah Moyo, the company was not asked to plead before Bulawayo magistrate Maxwell Ncube and the matter was remanded to December 20.
According to the State’s case, on February 10, Moyo devised a plan to defraud Sibangani Sibanda, who was interested in purchasing a residential stand. Moyo allegedly advertised available stands on Facebook, prompting Sibanda to contact her on February 12 via her mobile phone to inquire about the stands.
Residential Stands
During the conversation, Moyo informed Sibanda that the stands in Cowdray Park were no longer available, but instead offered stands in Nketa 8, Nketa 9, and Emganwini suburbs. Subsequently, the two agreed to meet on February 13 to view the stands.
Reports state that on February 13 around 9 a.m., Moyo sent one of her employees, Easyboy Tshabangu, to guide Sibanda to Nketa 9 and Nketa 8 to view the residential stands.
Following the viewing, Sibanda expressed interest in one of the infill stands, measuring 400 square metres. Tshabangu then took Sibanda to Moyo’s house, where Moyo confirmed the availability of the stand for US$9,000. She promised to provide the stand number after payment in full.
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Acknowledge Receipt
Allegedly directed by Moyo, Sibanda proceeded to pay a deposit of US$3,400 for the stand at Moyo’s office in the Bulawayo city centre. Mzingaye Dhlamini, on behalf of Moyo, received the payment and issued an acknowledgement of receipt dated February 15 which was signed by both parties. Tshabangu and Dhlamini were witnesses to the transaction.
However, on February 16, Sibanda discovered that she had been deceived when Moyo called to inform her that she did not possess the necessary documentation for the stand.
In response, Sibanda reported the matter to Bulawayo Central Police Station, leading to an investigation. Through this investigation, it was determined that the residential stand in question actually belonged to the BCC.
As a result of the alleged fraud, Sibanda suffered a loss of US$2,600, but US$800 was recovered during the investigation.
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