-money spent on women, booze, lodges
Happiness T Chayerera
MASVINGO CITY-Magistrate Caroline Tafira, who tried popular former street kid and OK Supermarket airtime vendor turned conman, Ronald Mupawayenda aka Ronald Macheme, is having a torrid time in determining the convict’s age as he possess neither a birth certificate nor a national identity card.
Magistrate Tafira had no option but to order the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services to take Ronnie to a government dentist in order to determine his age for purposes of sentencing.
Ronnie was convicted of defrauding Nickson Kwirirai an airtime agent and Etienne Makotose a cellphone dealer of $1 600 after pleading guilty to the offences.
He told the Magistrate that he spent the money on booze, women, lodges, and nightclubs enjoying himself.
The Magistrate convicted him but could not pass a sentence as Ronnie claimed to be 20 and that his birth certificate was in Harare with his sister who was not reachable on the phone.
Magistarte Tafira was not convinced that Ronnie is 20 hence he ordered that he be examined by a dentist to determine his age.
It was not specified when he will be back in court for the sentence.
Police sources told The Midweek Watch that Ronnie was arrested at Mpandawana Rank in Gutu last following an altercation with other touts he had joined over a loading kombi.
“He was loading a kombi when a misunderstanding arose among the touts and other touts began to question where he had come from, upon which police details intervened and that is when his luck ran out as some people identified him as someone who was wanted by the police in Masvingo on fraud charges,” said the source who is not allowed to speak to the press.
Precious Takuva who stood in for the state told the court that on May 11 Ronnie convinced Kwirirai an Ecocash and airtime agent that wealthy businessman, Allan Sibanda urgently needed $1 350 as his truck had developed a breakdown somewhere along Harare Road.
Kwirirai transferred the money as he trusted the convict and Sibanda whom he had dealt with on several occasions before.
On May 31, Ronnie struck again when he approachedMakotose and got away with four smart phones worth $360 at Long House Building adjacent to Nyaningwe Supermarket along Emmerson Mnangagwa Street.
Ronnie promised to bring back the money from the client who wanted them urgently and Makotose had no reason to doubt the former street kid as they had engaged in similar deals before without any problems.
Only one smartphone worth $95 was recovered.
