Zimbabwe Airforce chief Zimondi arrested for fraud

A senior Ministry of Defence official Air Commodore Kenneth Zimondi and two accomplices yesterday appeared in court facing fraud charges involving R235 000 and US$5 000.

Zimondi is also facing a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud or alternatively conspiracy to unlawfully deal in precious stones.

Zimondi (56) is jointly charged with Jackson Makate (29) and Blessing July (26).

The three were not asked to plead to the charges when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Shane Kubonera, who remanded them in custody to June 22 for bail ruling.

Its is alleged that Zimondi, July, Makate and his twin brother Jack, who is still at large, misrepresented to Muboko Zvitei that they had formed a company called Mutoko Gold Mine, which required 50 Electro plated discs.

Zimondi, it is alleged, invited Zvitei to New Ambassador Hotel were he showed her an invoice purportedly issued by the mining company.

Zvitei was allegedly made to believe that the discs were to be supplied by a South African company at a cost of R4 700 per disc and in return would be sold to the mining firm at US$1 780 per disc.

It is the State's case that Zimondi convinced Zvitei that he had applied for a loan to fund the deal and told him that the process was taking too long at the bank.

Zimondi, the court heard, told Zvitei to finance the deal on condition they would share the profits equally.

The unsuspecting Zvitei transferred R235 000 from her account into a South African ABSA Bank account, says the State.

It is the State's case that Makate brought the discs from SA and Zvitei discovered that they were of no value and that the mine was non-existent. She then went to SA in a bid to obtain a refund only to find out that the addresses of suppliers she had been given were fake.

She made a police report and the trio was arrested on June 16 this year.

It is further alleged that Zimondi, Tichaona Matambanadzo and Chinyangare allegedly misrepresented to Jimmy Makurumbandi that they were organising a trip to Geneva, Switzerland, on Government business.

The arrangement was that Makurumbandi would go with Matambanadzo and Chinyangare in place of Zimondi whom they claim was under sanctions.

The trio ordered him to pay US$5 000, which was to be refunded upon their return.

Makurumbandi lost US$5 000 to the trio for the trip, which never materialised.

On the conspiracy case, Zimondi and Chinyangare allegedly hatched a plan to misrepresent to potential foreign diamond buyers from Russia that they were licensed agents who could facilitate them to buy diamonds from Marange Resources, it is alleged.

The duo went to Marange head office where they misrepresented to the chief executive officer, a Mr Dube that they were from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and were on a Government mission to buy rough diamonds.

It is alleged that Zimondi used his influence as a senior military officer to convince him that he was representing the Government.

They were referred to Msasa to view the diamond parcels.

They again misrepresented to the officials in Msasa that they were agents from the Government who had the authority to represent and facilitate the purchase of diamonds by Russians, it is alleged.

The court heard that the duo was granted permission to enter the diamond vault. However the matter came to light when police questioned their credentials, it is alleged.