A 29-year-old Harare man allegedly defrauded a businessman of R60 000 after posing as a runner for Mabvuku-Tafara legislator Scott Sakupwanya and claiming the MP needed money to pay parking fees for his private jet in South Africa.
Hilton Tapiwa Liwanda, 29, appeared before Harare magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai yesterday facing a charge of fraud.
He was granted US$300 bail and remanded to October 8, 2026.
Prosecutor Chipo Muvhamba told the court that on August 17, 2026, Liwanda and an accomplice who is still at large approached the complainant and claimed they were in direct communication with Sakupwanya.
It is alleged that Liwanda told the complainant that Sakupwanya was in South Africa looking for mining equipment and urgently needed South African rand to settle parking fees for his private jet at Lanseria International Airport.
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The court heard that Liwanda claimed Sakupwanya had United States dollars and would reimburse the complainant when they met at the DaVinci Hotel in South Africa to finalise the mining equipment deal.
To make the deal appear genuine, Liwanda allegedly told the complainant that he had facilitated similar transactions for Sakupwanya before and provided a South African FNB bank account belonging to his accomplice for the deposit.
The complainant, believing the representations to be genuine, transferred R60 000 into the account and travelled to South Africa for the scheduled meeting.
However, Sakupwanya did not show up at the agreed venue.
When the complainant tried to reverse the transaction, he discovered that the money had already been withdrawn.
He then contacted Liwanda, who allegedly became evasive, prompting him to file a police report that led to Liwanda's arrest.
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