Magistrate dismisses bid to drop some fraud charges against Byo councillor 

Bulawayo Magistrate Richard Ramaboea has dismissed an application for the discharge of four out of the 14 fraud charges faced by Ward 1 Councillor Josiah Mutangi and his co-accused, Janet Zhou.

The pair, represented by Constance Mathaba of Makiye and Partners, recently made the application through their lawyer.

They are facing 14 counts of fraud after allegedly swindling 14 vendors of US$200 each under the pretext of acquiring vending bays in the city centre.

The duo sought to have four charges dismissed, arguing that the complainants for counts four and nine were not called to testify, while those for counts 10 and 11 had confessed that they never handed over any money to Zhou and Mutangi.

However, Magistrate Ramaboea dismissed the application, ruling that the State had led sufficient evidence proving the two accused persons had a case to answer.

The matter proceeded to the defence stage, with the pair taking turns on the stand.

Both Mutangi and Zhou denied the charges. They claimed that the vendors made the US$200 payments through an association called Bulawayo City Achievers, which Mutangi leads as president.

Mutangi told the court that the vendors approached their association after the Bulawayo City Council announced it would allocate vending bays to vendors affiliated with registered associations.

“Our association works together with the city council as we seek to support informal traders. In 2024, the city council announced that there would be an allocation of vending bays, and as such, we did our part to make the announcement to various vendors,” Mutangi said.

“The city council is using by-laws that were passed in 2010, which state that vendors can only be allocated bays through associations.”

Mutangi said he only knew one complainant who had acquired a vending bay at Baktas through their association, but he did not know the others.

He added that the association charges US$200 as a joining fee, covering administration, processing, background checks, and bay allocation, and that all vendors had received receipts.

“After learning about these charges, I did some investigations to get to the source of the issue. I discovered that one complainant had already received a bay, while the others were still on the waiting list,” he said.

“The problem was that they wanted bays located on Fifth Avenue, yet the association had advised them they could only get bays at Baktas. The reports they made of fraud are false; they are misrepresenting facts.”

The State, led by Brenda Nyoni, challenged the defence, citing discrepancies in Mutangi’s testimony and questioning the authenticity of the receipts presented.

“There is no evidence that these receipts actually came from the book you are referring to. Had it been the case that the complainants had formally made payments, you would have presented these documents at the very early stages of this trial. This is an afterthought,” Nyoni argued.

“All the witnesses came here and testified, but at no point did you challenge their testimonies to raise these issues you are pointing out now. How do you expect the court to believe you?

“The complainants testified that they had a meeting with you — they have a video recording of the meeting. You never challenged any of this evidence, which indicates they were telling the truth. Why raise different issues now? It’s a sign that you are lying to the court.”

Mutangi told the court that payments were made to the association’s secretary, who was responsible for receiving funds from clients.

However, the prosecution questioned this procedure, noting that the association’s constitution, submitted as evidence, designates the treasurer as the officer responsible for handling payments.

Zhou also denied the charges, claiming the allegations were malicious and politically motivated because she holds a political position at the market where they operate.

She said she only acted as an agent of the association and referred complainants to the association offices when they sought assistance to secure bays.

“The complainants are being malicious because they know where they left their money. They only came to me after the city council had announced that vendors would be allocated bays if they were affiliated with associations. I advised them to go to the association offices in the city centre to get full details,” Zhou testified.

“After they went to the association, one Chishamiso Chigora was granted a bay at Baktas. That was when she influenced the other vendors to refuse bays at Baktas, and that’s when they made their police reports.”

The State also inquired about the association’s joining procedures, membership proof, and communication channels.

Zhou said members receive membership cards and pay a US$6 monthly subscription, but she admitted she never attended meetings, as communication was done through WhatsApp group chats.

The matter was postponed to October 22, 2025, for continuation of trial.