Abraham Kesari Ndlovu, a 75-year-old Bulawayo resident, has been found guilty of cheating several people out of almost $300,000 and now faces a minimum term of 40 years in jail.
Abraham Kesari Ndlovu, who had been eluding law enforcement since 2010, used cunning persuasion techniques to trick gullible people into giving him substantial quantities of money and property titles for homes in a number of low-density districts of Bulawayo, including Hillside. After that, he would steal the money, sell the properties without the owners’ permission, and disappear.
Ndlovu, who lived in the Richmond area, was eventually captured by the CID Commercial Crimes Division after a protracted investigation. The spectacular chase was started by one of his victims, who spotted him in the city center.
Ndlovu was found guilty on ten counts of fraud by Hwange regional magistrate Mr. Mark Dzira after a protracted trial. He received a sentence of 65 years in jail, of which 10 years were postponed for good behavior and an additional 15 years suspended if he paid the victims’ damages in excess of $337,000. Ndlovu will therefore serve an effective 40 years in prison, with the possibility of an additional 55 years if the restitution is not paid due to his senior age.
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Despite being charged with 19 counts of fraud, Ndlovu was found guilty of only 10 of them. A number of victims described during the trial the terrifying experiences they had with Ndlovu’s fraudulent schemes. One of the victims, Patrick Sigauke, described how Ndlovu tricked him into paying US$61,000 for a house on Jason Moyo Street, only for him to learn later that he had been duped
Other victims who lost significant quantities of money and assets as a result of Ndlovu’s fraudulent acts were Bonani Mathuthu and Michel Stephen van Rooyen. Ndlovu’s dishonest activities included creating loan acquisition possibilities and falsifying property ownership, both of which left his victims bankrupt.
The spokesperson for the Bulawayo provincial police, Inspector Abednico Ncube, praised the court’s decision to sentence Ndlovu to a large amount of jail time, highlighting the judgment’s deterrent effect on potential scammers. In order to shield the general population from financial exploitation, he reaffirmed the police force’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who engage in fraudulent activities.
