News / National
Mutodi gets bail
16 Jun 2013 at 05:00hrs | Views
FLAMBOYANT rhumba musician Energy Mutodi (34), who is facing allegations of defrauding several people of over $6 million through his housing project, Friday appeared at the Harare Magistrates' Courts and was granted bail.
The musician-cum-businessman was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Donald Ndirowei, who remanded him out of custody on $500 bail.
Mutodi was also ordered, as part of the bail conditions, to report twice every week to the Criminal Investigation Department fraud section, to surrender his passport and not to interfere with State witnesses.
Prosecutor Tungamirai Chakurira alleged that sometime in 2006, Mutodi, together with other people, established the National Housing Delivery Trust (NHDT).
It was then agreed that the Trust would appoint people that would constitute the Board of Trustees with Mutodi as the chairman. The court heard that a Notarial Deed of Trust (No. MM568/2006) was then registered with the Deeds Office in Harare.
It is alleged the purported objective of the NHDT was to acquire land in urban areas and towns, then service it for residential purposes for the Trust's clients and members.
However, the Mutodi Express front man, alleged the State, knew beforehand that the Trust was just created as a vehicle to fleece desperate home seekers of their money.
The court further heard that a Kingdom Bank Trust account (number 49034007) was opened with Mutodi as the signatory. The account, it is alleged, was meant to secure all contributions from members of the Trust and the funds would be used to procure land, service it and then build houses for the clients under different schemes.
It is also alleged that the Simbi Yamudhara hitmaker invited membership from the civil service to contribute money to the scheme so that they could become house owners.
About 16 000 civil servants joined the scheme and started contributing money through deductions from their salaries by the Salary Service Bureau (SSB) which had received deduction orders to that effect, the court heard.
It is alleged that Mutodi then decided to change the account signing arrangements and made himself the sole signatory and signed all the transactions. Afterwards, it is alleged, $6 031 011 was deducted through the SSB and channelled towards the bank account in which Mutodi was now the sole signatory. He is alleged to then have withdrawn all the money from the account and converted it to personal use.
The musician-cum-businessman was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Donald Ndirowei, who remanded him out of custody on $500 bail.
Mutodi was also ordered, as part of the bail conditions, to report twice every week to the Criminal Investigation Department fraud section, to surrender his passport and not to interfere with State witnesses.
Prosecutor Tungamirai Chakurira alleged that sometime in 2006, Mutodi, together with other people, established the National Housing Delivery Trust (NHDT).
It was then agreed that the Trust would appoint people that would constitute the Board of Trustees with Mutodi as the chairman. The court heard that a Notarial Deed of Trust (No. MM568/2006) was then registered with the Deeds Office in Harare.
However, the Mutodi Express front man, alleged the State, knew beforehand that the Trust was just created as a vehicle to fleece desperate home seekers of their money.
The court further heard that a Kingdom Bank Trust account (number 49034007) was opened with Mutodi as the signatory. The account, it is alleged, was meant to secure all contributions from members of the Trust and the funds would be used to procure land, service it and then build houses for the clients under different schemes.
It is also alleged that the Simbi Yamudhara hitmaker invited membership from the civil service to contribute money to the scheme so that they could become house owners.
About 16 000 civil servants joined the scheme and started contributing money through deductions from their salaries by the Salary Service Bureau (SSB) which had received deduction orders to that effect, the court heard.
It is alleged that Mutodi then decided to change the account signing arrangements and made himself the sole signatory and signed all the transactions. Afterwards, it is alleged, $6 031 011 was deducted through the SSB and channelled towards the bank account in which Mutodi was now the sole signatory. He is alleged to then have withdrawn all the money from the account and converted it to personal use.
Source - NewsDay
