Ushewekunze Housing Cooperative Chairman in Court ...

Ushewekunze Housing Cooperative Chairman in Court for Fraud

Munyaradzi Mashiri

Zim Now Court Correspondent

The chairman of Ushewekunze Housing Cooperative, Fungai Nyarota, 53, has appeared before the Harare Magistrates' Courts facing charges of fraud and alienation of state land.

Nyarota, a resident of Ushewekunze, was remanded in custody as the case unfolds.

The State alleges that in 2014, the complainant joined the Ushewekunze Housing Cooperative despite an ongoing land dispute between the owners of Crest Breeders International Farm and the cooperative over the acquisition of the land.

According to court documents, a settlement agreement had been reached between CFI and the cooperative, stipulating that any agreements of sale regarding the land would be entered into only between CFI and the cooperative members for specific stands.

However, Nyarota is accused of selling stand number 218, measuring 1,000 square meters, to another person, Tonde Nyazema, without disclosing this information. The complainant was misled by Nyarota into believing that the stand was vacant and available for purchase. The complainant proceeded to pay developmental and administrative fees towards ownership of the land.

An agreement of sale was subsequently signed between the complainant and CFI for the ownership of the stand.

However, Nyarota failed to inform CFI that the property had already been allocated to Nyazema.

The fraud came to light when the complainant visited the property and discovered that Nyazema had already constructed a structure on the stand. Efforts to recover the money or the stand proved unsuccessful, as Nyarota refused to reverse his decision.

The complainant faces a potential financial loss of US$15 000 due to the alleged fraud.