Crime and Courts

 Hiepeg case deferred as Magistrate falls sick

By Tonderai Saharo

 The fate of fraud accused Masvingo businessman Nasion Madyambwa has been postponed again as the presiding Magistrate is on sick leave.

Madyambwa is facing allegations of defrauding an Australian based girlfriend cum investor,  Achidaishe Mudzingwa of US$60 000 in a botched deal after he misrepresented to her that he would procure  a Mashava based Lennox mine on her behalf.

The businessman runs Hiepeg tyre services in Masvingo city, with other business ventures from mining to construction and farming entities around the province.  

Madyambwa is believed to have used part of the money to expand his business empire.

The matter took close to 6 months to be heard before Masvingo Magistrate Elizabeth Hanzi with the state lining up 5 witnesses.

Magistrate Hanzi was initially expected to hand down the judgment on 8 July after a full trial but it was postponed to 22 July and now to 8 August as she is not feeling well.

Madyambwa now has to wait for another two weeks to know his fate.

He is denying the charges and told the court that he was in an extra marital affair with the investor and the money he was receiving were gifts he received as benefits of being in love with her.

However the state said the businessman leveraged on the relationship to mislead the investor into the mining deal.

Facts tabled before the court are that after the businessman received the money from the investor and when she came back from Australia he took her to Lennox mine and Kilimanock leaching plant and misrepresented to her that she was the owner of the mine.

The investor later went back alone to the mine believing that the place had been bought for her and that is when she discovered that she had been defrauded after interactions with the mine employees.

 Madyambwa then became evasive and allegedly went on to cut lines of communication with the woman leading to a police report being made.  

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