A LAND baron has been dragged to court to answer fraud charges he allegedly committed in 2000.
Brian Dzimwasha, 70, was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate, Stanford Mambanje.
He was released on $20 000 bail and ordered not to interfere with witnesses and to surrender his travel documents. The complainant is Batsirai Mutize.
The court heard that in 2000, Dzimwasha flighted an advert inviting people to buy stands which were being sold by his company, Valley Lane (Pvt) Ltd. Mutize approached Dzimwasha asking about the terms which were acceptable in the acquisition of the stands.
On September 5 2000, Mutize signed an agreement of sale for Stand Number 3321, Crowborough B, measuring 600 square metres. He paid for the stand in full and was advised he would be shown his stand, after a month, after the servicing of the stands was completed. He wasn’t shown any stand until 2006 but stand number 3611, Crowborough B, measuring 583 square metres, was different from the one he had bought.
He accepted the stand but did not develop it because he was having some financial challenges. It is the State’s case that on March 11, 2012, Mutize saw a structure that was being built on his stand. When he tried to seek recourse from Dzimwasha, he was advised that whoever was occupying his stand was doing so illegally.
The stand was being occupied by an employee of the Harare City Council who argued that she was allocated the stand by her employer through their scheme. Dzimwasha, the court claims, started to ignore Mutize’s calls.
Mutize suffered a potential prejudice of about $120 000. Lancelot Mutsokoti appeared for the State.
ALSO READ:
Man arrested over 811kg of mbanje
A CHIPINGE man was yesterday arrested after he was found with more than 800kg of mbanje.
Simba Kakuni, 35, was found in possession of bags stashed with processed marijuana, weighing 811 kilograms.
Police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the arrest and promised to provide further details today.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police recovered sacks stashed with dagga from a Chipinge man,” said Ass Comm Nyathi.
“Investigations are in progress and further details will be released soon.”
Those who break the law could be jailed for up to 12 years.
Zimbabwe recently scrapped rules requiring sole state ownership for cannabis farming to encourage investment in the plant for industrial and medical use.
