The two are, the director of Public Hygienic Eye (Pvt) Ltd,
Tonderai Walter Muchemwa (29) and Hillary Mukaratirwa (54) who is a director of
Plan Infrastructure Development who are facing fraud charges involving over
US$41 000.
Muchemwa and Mukaratirwa have since appeared before the
Harare Magistrates court.
It is alleged that sometime in October 2021, a company
called Plan Infrastructure Development (Pvt) Ltd entered into an agreement with
the City of Harare to construct residential flats at stand number 41282
Ardbennie Road in Mbare near Tagarika Flats.
A memorandum of agreement was signed between the two
parties.
The terms of the memorandum of agreement between the
parties were that the land remained Harare City Council land and that the
specific purpose of the land was for the construction of residential flats.
However, sometime in March 2022, contrary to the terms of
the memorandum of agreement as well as the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15),
Plan Infrastructure Development (Pvt) Ltd entered into a memorandum agreement
with a company named Public Places Hygienic Eye (Pvt) Ltd where they offered
the land in question to a Mbare based businessman for the construction of
temporary structures for a period of 36 months.
Muchemwa, together with some youths only identified as
Maisiri, Reason, Olembe and three others with no further particulars known, who
claimed to have been representing the community, in turn, offered the land to
the businessman after misrepresenting facts to him that they had the authority
to provide the land for the purpose of constructing tuckshops.
Acting on the misrepresentation, the businessman agreed to
the offer and was made to pay US$19 000 to Hillary Mukaratirwa so that he would
allow the project to commence.
“Complainant (the businessman) was made to construct a
total of 100 tuckshops using his own resources and according to their agreement
the tuckshops were to be shared between himself, accused one (Muchemwa) and
some youths who claimed to be representing the community.
“After completion of the construction accused one, Tonderai
Walter Muchemwa requested that the complainant buy him out of the project. The
complainant was charged and made to pay a total of US$22 400 to accused one
(Muchemwa) for the purpose of buying him out of the project,” reads the State
outline.
However, after everything had been completed, the
businessman later learnt that the land that had been allocated to him was
Harare City Council land which was to be used by Plan Infrastructure
Development (Pvt) Ltd for the purpose of building residential stands and the
company had no right whatsoever to sub-lease the land to anyone or to change
the approved use of the land.
Resultantly all the tuckshops that had been constructed
were demolished.
According to the State, the accused persons misrepresented
facts to the complainant that they had the authority to lease the land to him
yet their intention was to defraud him.
The total value defrauded is US$41 400 and nothing was
recovered. Herald
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