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Bulawayo councillor's fraud trial postponed
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The trial of Ward One councillor Josiah Mutangi, facing 14 counts of fraud, has been postponed to 30 September.
Mutangi is jointly charged with Janet Zhou over allegations that in February 2024 they collected US$200 each from 14 vendors, claiming they could allocate vending spaces at the corner of 5th Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street. Both are out on US$400 bail and are represented by lawyer Constance Mathaba of Makiye and Partners.
Bulawayo provincial magistrate Abednico Ndebele postponed the case, citing the absence of the trial magistrate and prosecutor on official business.
Through their lawyer, Mutangi and Zhou denied the charges, asserting that they never received money from the vendors. The defence argued that payments were made to an association responsible for securing vending bays and that the complainants had been offered the spaces but refused them due to dissatisfaction with the location. The matter was later reported to police, resulting in the pair's arrest.
Mutangi was recently sentenced to 30 days in prison for repeatedly defying court orders to vacate a farmhouse in Umguza, on the outskirts of Bulawayo.
Mutangi is jointly charged with Janet Zhou over allegations that in February 2024 they collected US$200 each from 14 vendors, claiming they could allocate vending spaces at the corner of 5th Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street. Both are out on US$400 bail and are represented by lawyer Constance Mathaba of Makiye and Partners.
Bulawayo provincial magistrate Abednico Ndebele postponed the case, citing the absence of the trial magistrate and prosecutor on official business.
Through their lawyer, Mutangi and Zhou denied the charges, asserting that they never received money from the vendors. The defence argued that payments were made to an association responsible for securing vending bays and that the complainants had been offered the spaces but refused them due to dissatisfaction with the location. The matter was later reported to police, resulting in the pair's arrest.
Mutangi was recently sentenced to 30 days in prison for repeatedly defying court orders to vacate a farmhouse in Umguza, on the outskirts of Bulawayo.
Source - The Chronicle
