Gilbert Munetsi

For Kelvin Nyamhika the prison doors have barely closed behind him, but another alleged fraud case is threatening to follow him into jail.

The 33-year-old Chitungwiza man was this week sentenced to an effective 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding a United Kingdom-based woman of US$25 900 in a bizarre scam in which he allegedly posed as a pastor with powers to heal cancer.

But as Nyamhika begins his prison term, a Zimbabwe National Army member says he has been waiting for justice in another case in which he allegedly lost US$2 062 to the same man.

Purpose Makwangwara (39) a sergent in the ZNA claims he entered into what he believed was a legitimate medical supplies partnership with Nyamhika — only for the promised business deal to disappear, along with his money.

Now Makwangwara wants the authorities to revisit his case, amid allegations that crucial evidence obtained by police was not presented in court and that the docket subsequently disappeared into the bureaucratic maze between the police and the National Prosecuting Authority.

According to Makwangwara, the saga began when he met a vendor known as Moda at Zvido Shopping Centre.

Moda allegedly referred him to Nyamhika, whom he understood to be involved in the pharmaceutical business.

Makwangwara says Nyamhika represented that he possessed a licence enabling him to supply pharmaceutical products to pharmacies and proposed that the two enter into a business partnership.

The deal, according to Makwangwara, had all the makings of  legitimacy written on it.

Each man was supposed to contribute US$2 000, while an additional US$62 from each was intended to cover transport expenses.

Nyamhika allegedly told him that a consignment of medical supplies would be brought into Zimbabwe from Zambia within a week aboard an Inter-Africa bus and would be collected at Roadport in Harare.

Believing he was investing in a genuine business opportunity, Makwangwara says he handed over his money.

The transaction, he claims, took place inside NBS Bank's Samora Machel Avenue branch on 28 July 2024.

Then came the waiting. The promised consignment did not arrive.

And, according to Makwangwara, attempts to contact Nyamhika eventually became futile as calls allegedly went unanswered before Nyamhika subseqyently blocked him.

With his business dream evaporating and more than US$2 000 seemingly gone, Makwangwara went to Chitungwiza Police Station and lodged a complaint, recorded under police reference 425/06/24, according to documents and information supplied by the complainant.

A Constable Mungwere was assigned to investigate the matter. Makwangwara says the investigation initially appeared to be moving in the right direction.

When Nyamhika appeared in court in connection with the allegations, he allegedly admitted receiving the money.

But for Makwangwara, the most important piece of evidence was not merely the disputed admission.

It was the bank's cameras.

Because the money had allegedly changed hands inside the NBS Bank branch, police requested the bank's CCTV footage.

The footage was obtained and, according to Makwangwara, handed over to prosecutor Tendai Geza.

That is where the complainant's frustration begins.

He alleges that despite the footage potentially showing the parties and the transaction at the bank, it was not used as evidence in the proceedings.

Makwangwara further says the accused was eventually remanded in custody for a month before being granted US$100 bail.

The matter, however, did not progress as he expected.

According to the complainant, Geza told him that she had returned the docket to the police for further action.

But when Makwangwara sought answers from the police, he says officers claimed they did not know where the docket was.

And so a case involving a bank transaction, CCTV footage, a named investigating officer and a recorded police complaint was allegedly left hanging between two institutions responsible for delivering justice.

For Makwangwara, the issue is no longer simply about the money.

He wants the case reviewed and the evidence properly considered.

He believes that if the CCTV footage exists, it should form part of the prosecution's case rather than disappear into an administrative black hole.

The allegations against Nyamhika come into sharper focus following his recent conviction in a completely separate fraud case.

In that matter, the State told the Harare Magistrates' Court that Nyamhika befriended Mildred Zvimbvatu's son before allegedly contacting the UK-based woman on WhatsApp.

He allegedly presented himself as someone who could connect her with a pastor capable of helping her daughter, who was suffering from cancer.

According to the court evidence, Nyamhika allegedly created another Econet line and assumed the identity of “Pastor Mugoriwe” from a church called City of Truth.

Zvimbvatu allegedly sent US$15 900 for purported spiritual interventions.

The alleged scam then expanded.

Nyamhika allegedly claimed to have connections at the UK Embassy and offered to assist with visa documentation for Zvimbvatu's daughter and grandchild.

Another US$10 000 was allegedly paid, taking the total prejudice to US$25 900.

Police subsequently traced him using information and call records obtained from Econet.

He pleaded guilty.

On September 2, 2026, Nyamhika was sentenced to 46 months, but 12 months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, while another 14 months were suspended on condition that he repays the US$25 900 by December 1. That left an effective prison term of 20 months.

Nothing had been recovered from the UK complainant by the time of sentencing, according to the published report.

Makwangwara's allegations are, however, separate from that conviction and have not resulted in a conviction against Nyamhika. They therefore remain allegations until determined by a court.