Two Harare men have appeared before the courts facing fraud charges after allegedly swindling a local businessman of US$3 400 through a fake land lease deal.
Bannet John, 52, of Mufakose, and Batsirai Mubaiwa, 55, of Cold Comfort, were arraigned before the Harare Magistrates’ Court following their arrest on December 11, 2025.
The complainant is Casual Gear (Pvt) Ltd, represented by one of its directors, Kiss Albert, 58, who told the court that he intended to lease a piece of land in Harare to establish a restaurant, wedding venue, amusement park and a mineral water processing plant.
According to State papers, in September 2025, Albert identified an unoccupied plot along Samora Machel Avenue near the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) offices and engaged the two accused to assist in verifying the land’s status with the City of Harare.
On September 30, the parties allegedly visited the Rowan Martin Building, where a council employee identified as Mavhunga reportedly confirmed that the land was vacant.
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The accused allegedly misrepresented that they had the capacity to facilitate the processing of a lease agreement with the City of Harare.
Between September and November 2025, the complainant paid the accused a total of US$3 400, believing the money was being used to secure the lease.
The two later produced documents they claimed were issued by the City of Harare.
However, when Albert requested to meet the city official handling the transaction, the accused allegedly became evasive and continued demanding more money.
Suspecting foul play, Albert approached another city official, Mawedze, who reportedly confirmed that the documents were fraudulent, bearing a forged signature and a counterfeit council date stamp.
The matter was subsequently reported to the Criminal Investigation Department Commercial Crimes Division, leading to the arrest of the two suspects at the complainant’s business premises.
Nothing was recovered, and the accused are now facing fraud charges. The matter has been remanded for further proceedings.
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