Tonderai Saharo
Prominent Masvingo businessman, Naison Madyambwa who is in the dock for defrauding a female Australian investor of US$60 000 in a mining claim deal has applied for discharge after all the key state witnesses testified in court.
The state witnesses included the investor Achidaishe Mudzingwa, a ZRP officer detective Onsomore Chipato who investigated the fraud case, a World Remit employee, Marshal Manyoka and an official from Wailers company, all led evidence that Madyambwa who runs Hiepeg Tyre services indeed received varying amounts of money from the investor, last year.
Evidence of receipts for the transactions where Hiepeg collected various amounts of money were produced in court.
Mudzingwa who was the first to take to the witness’ stand, told the court that she was in constant communication with the businessman and she was assured that all paperwork was being processed with Madyambwa even sending her a final assay certificate as evidence that all was in order.
She told the court that this was after she had ordered the businessman to collect US$50 000 from Wailers in Harare to purchase a gold mine in Mashava.
The Court heard that between March 2023 to January this year Madyambwa demanded varying amounts totaling nearly US$10 000 on the pretence that he needed the money for workers’ salaries as well as buying mining equipment and machinery, claiming he had started mining operations.
However, Madyambwa through his lawyer Charles Ndhlovu of Ndhlovu and Hwacha Legal Practitioners is denying ever receiving the money from the investor and spiritedly discredited the evidence that was produced in court.
He argued that some of the receipts produced did not explicitly reveal that the money he collected from various money transfer agencies were sent by the investor and did not precisely indicate that the money will be used for mining investment.
After the close of the state case his lawyer then made an application for discharge saying the prosecution does not have sufficient evidence for his client to stand trial.
Magistrate Elizabeth Hanzi will make her ruling on Madyambwa’s application for discharge on 17 June after receiving written arguments from both the state and the defence counsel.
