Man charged for selling phantom property

Michael Mashiri

Lloyd Munyaradzi Mutsipa, 50, of Msasa Park, appeared before Dennis Mangosi at the Harare Magistrates' Courts charged with fraud after selling a non-existent residential property for US$8 700

The State, through Zebediah Bofu alleged that sometime in 2020 the complainant saw an advert on Facebook by Mutsipa for an undeveloped property in New Msasa Park.

Mutsipa confirmed that he was selling the stand allocated to him by Mukuvisi Tashinga Housing Cooperative as his benefit of holding office as a committee member.

The State alleges that from July 28, 2020 to November 10, 2020, the complainant paid US$8 700 to Mutsipa for stand number 2422 Masasa Park measuring 420 square meters.

The complainant was given receipts as acknowledgement the cash paid.

It is alleged that November 10, 2020, Mutsipa prepared a memorandum of agreement which was signed by him and the complainant.

When both parties visited the stand, the complainant discovered that there were occupants there.

Mutsipa then told the complainant that they were tenants that would vacate by January 31, 2021.

Sometime early February 2021 the complainant went to the stand to check whether the tenants had moved out, but they told him that they were the owners of the stand.

Mutsipa then offered the complainant another stand number 2470 measuring 460 square meters and a memorandum of agreement was signed on February 10, 2021.

On the same month, the complainant went to the stand to build and he was told by a neighbor that the stand did not belong to Mutsipa and was stopped.

The complainant then approached Mutsipa who then promised to refund the money.

Since then he was giving the complainant fake promises and later became evasive.

Mangosi remanded Mutsipa who is out of custody to November 21.