Source: Impersonating fraudsters nabbed – herald
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
TWO Mutare fraudsters, who crafted a plan to impersonate the owner of a 404-square metre residential stand in the city’s Zimta Park suburb using a doctored national identity card in order to change ownership documents, were arrested after an alert Housing Department official detected the attempted fraud.
The two – Tendai Muchaneta, a female adult aged 26 years of Old Chisamba, Sakubva and Edwin Hunguru, a male adult of Zimta Park, Mutare – appeared before Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Honest Musiyiwa at Mutare Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, facing fraud charges as defined in Section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, (Chapter 9:23)
The duo was remanded in custody to Thursday (yesterday) for bail application.
The complainant in the case is Mr Tatenda Nyika, of Malbrough Court, Mutare, and is employed by Mutare City Council as a housing officer.
Presenting the State’ case, Mrs Joyce Tinarwo, said last Friday, the accused persons went to Mutare City Council Housing Department, where upon arrival, Muchaneta presented herself to the complainant, a housing officer, as Fungai Chiminya, and that she was the lawful owner of a vacant Stand Number 6263 Zimta, Mutare, measuring 404-square meters.
She told the complainant that she had misplaced the stand documents, hence seeking replacement.
The court heard that the complainant advised her to submit a written request to enable the local authority to process the replacement documents.
The complainant told her to come back on Monday for assistance.
On Monday, Muchaneta proceeded to Mutare City Council where the complainant advised her to submit a written request to the local authority to process the replacement documents.
Mrs Tinarwo said Muchaneta, with the assistance of Hunguru, proceeded to write a request letter, and signed it, purporting to be Fungal Chiminya, and thereafter tendered it to Mr Nyika.
Thereafter, the complainant requested for Muchaneta’s national identity card, and Muchaneta instructed Hunguru to collect her identity card from a motor vehicle which was parked outside the council premises. He collected and handed it over to Muchaneta.
The identity card bore the name Fungai Chiminya with Muchaneta’s picture.
The court also heard that upon examination of the identity card submitted by Muchaneta and a picture on a passport photocopy in the file revealed that the faces were different, thereby arousing the complainant’s suspicion.
Unbeknown to Muchaneta, Nyika called Fungai Chiminya’s cousin, Nomatter Manzou whose details were in the stand file, and was advised that she (Fungai Chiminya) was in Zaka, Masvingo, and had never misplaced her stand documents.
Convinced that the accused persons were fraudsters, the complainant reported the issue to the Council Security Department.
A report was made to Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, culminating in the arrest of the two accused persons.
Mrs Tinarwo said the accused persons’ actions intended to prejudice Mutare City Council of its good administration, and the owner, Fungai Chiminya who purchased the stand for USD$9 312, 20.
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