ACTIVIST IN R10M FRAUD

As life becomes tough for Zimbabweans both at home and abroad, those in the Diaspora are becoming more vulnerable to con artists who pretend to help them make extra cash.

This comes as a migrant activist is alleged to have cheated hundreds of Zimbabweans in South Africa out of as much as R10 million and spent it on a lavish lifestyle.

Some people who spoke to CITE said this could be one of the largest fraud cases affecting members of the Diaspora.

Luke Mufaro Dzviti is alleged to have persuaded desperate Zimbabweans to invest in several projects such as a poultry business, buying a bus, and a KFC franchise. He promised that the money made from these ventures would subsequently be reinvested in other businesses like booking air and bus tickets.

Most of the people Dzviti allegedly robbed were housekeepers, gardeners, and security guards, who sacrificed their savings hoping to receive more returns and improve their lives.

Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa, Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena, said such fraud was unfortunate because it would discourage Zimbabweans in the Diaspora from pooling resources to develop their home country.

“Zimbabweans in the Diaspora will now be very sceptical when you talk of investment,” he said.

“Now there’s this scheme where people are losing money. If someone suggests pooling resources, people will say, ‘no, no, you want to eat our money.”

Mabhena said Dzviti had approached them to partner in taking the South African government to court over the non-renewal of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPS), but they refused.

“From the onset, we have believed in negotiations. The challenge is ZEP holders became desperate and when we told people we were negotiating they did not believe us but went to Dzviti who had set up an association to represent them.”

Dzviti was the chairman of the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation (ZIF), which advocated for Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders to stay in South Africa.

ZIF, a Non-Profit Company, registered based on “group interest” had a goal of sourcing and administering legal support for ZEP holders to keep their legal resident status in South Africa when the government wanted to kick them out.

ZIF and other human rights organizations took the South African government to court over the permits and won. As a result of his advocacy for the case, Zimbabweans thought they could trust Dzviti when he suggested the idea of the profit-making projects in early 2022.

ZIF directors and the committee, however, refused as that went outside its mandate and legal parameters, arguing the organization lacked legal authority to receive funds for investment or stokvel. Dzviti then formed what is now known as the Zimbabwe Migration Network Programme (ZMNP).

Following the ZEP victory case, Dzviti opened WhatsApp groups where members discussed investing in poultry projects, KFC franchises, cross-border buses, and e-commerce. Dzviti claimed this initiative had been registered with the relevant authority, so people trusted him thinking it was not a pyramid scheme. 

Mabhena said they questioned Dzviti and his organization when they asked people to donate money.

“We asked where this money will be deposited. We were told the money goes straight into our lawyer’s bank account,” Mabhena said.

“Afterwards we heard there were investment projects and this is money that Luke is said to have disappeared with.”

Dzviti’s alleged victims would then see him on WhatsApp statuses posing with millions of rands on his desk.

“We all believed in him based on the previous and current job that he was doing to fight for us in the court cases regarding our permits,” said one of his victims.

“It was with this reason that hundreds if not thousands of Zimbabweans contributed.”

A male victim who reportedly opened a police case at Sandton Police Station said Dzviti invited all Zimbabweans local and abroad to ZMNP in January 2023.

“There were two options available, including a Stokvel where individuals would pledge a certain amount that they will pay every month for 12 months,” he said.

“At the end of the new year, your money will reap three-fold interest. The Stokvel money was meant to rent or purchase a plot where we would do poultry business, and the proceeds of the chickens would finance the interest of the investors.

“The second option was a one-off pledge. These monies were meant to buy a bus, buy a KFC franchise, and do e-business such as air tickets and bus ticket bookings. The Stokvel was meant to mature on the 31st of January 2023; however, there was an option for people to apply for early payment and get paid on the 10th of December.”

The victim said the business sides were meant to mature on March 31, 2024.

“My wife and I pledged for both Stokvel and business,” he said.

“I pledged R5,000 and R2,000 for business for myself and my wife, respectively. I also pledged R2,000 and R1,500 for Stokvel paid monthly.”

He was supposed to receive R73,500, having invested R42,000 for both projects. He then notified Dzviti and his Vice Chair that he wanted an early payment on December 10, 2023, as he had plans to go to Zimbabwe. CITE

Posted in: NEWS