Zimbo with fake Botswana ID dragged to court

A Zimbabwean man who has been masquerading as a Motswana for the past eight years was this week brought to court to answer for a charge of obtaining by false pretense.

Simbarashe Mafumo, commonly known as Musa Simon was arrested for possessing a fake Omang that he fraudulently obtained in 2007.

The court heard that when - 40 -year-old Mafumo applied for an identity card (Omang) in 2007, he claimed that he was the son of a Motswana woman called Joyce Mpofu of Jakalas Number 1 in the North East District.

Natale Village chiefs' letter ascertaining that indeed Mafumo was a Motswana accompanied his application.

But standing before court as a witness, Judith Mpofu, the sister to Joyce, Musa's alleged mother, told the court that her sister never had a child called Musa.

"I do not know the accused who claims to be my nephew. It is impossible that my younger sister could have had a child that I do not know. In fact I know all my sister's children, so I was surprised in 2009 when police officers showed up at my home in Jakalas to ask me if I had a nephew called Simbarashe. It is my first time to see this man and he is definitely not my sister's son," Judith whose sister Joyce has migrated to the UK where she is married told the court.

Another witness, Thusego Segabo (40) who works as Customs Officer testified that she had known Mafumo since 2007 when they were dating.

She said when they were still in love Mafumo introduced her to his parents in Harare Zimbabwe.

Segabo further revealed that Mafumo once gave her a receipt and asked her to collect a passport for his ‘friend' at immigration offices.

"I collected the passport but to my surprise it had a picture of Mafumo but with a different name, Musa Simon. When I asked him how he managed to get a Botswana passport and why he was using two different names, he simply brushed me off by saying he was a Motswana and he had an Omang. I was shocked because I knew he was a Zimbabwean," said Segabo.

She further told of how after six months Mafumo left the country to pursue his studies abroad and his relationship with Segabo ended as she moved on to marry someone else.

In 2009 he came back to Botswana and acting on a tip-off the police nabbed the unsuspecting Mafumo.

He will appear before court again on the 14th of August, as there are more witnesses to testify.