An accountant at Marondera Municipality who allegedly stole a high-end vehicle from Deputy Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Namibia Cathrine Mauswa, taking advantage of her husband’s death, has appeared in court charged with fraud.
Tinashe Mungwena (38) appeared before Harare Regional Magistrate Donald Ndirowei after handing himself to the police.
He was remanded to June 11 on free bail.
According to prosecutors, sometime in 2022, Mauswa’s late husband Never Besa acquired a motor vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner from High Range Land Developers, Harare.
Since 2022, Mauswa has been using the motor vehicle since she had agreed with her husband that it was her vehicle.
Besa allegedly gave Mungwena the said motor vehicle in trust for temporal use.
Then on March 7, Besa was involved in a fatal road traffic accident in Victoria Falls.
“At that material time, Mungwena was in possession of the motor vehicle in question,” the court heard.
Mauswa then requested Mungwena to return the motor vehicle as it formed part of her late husband’s Estate.
Mungwena allegedly refused to return the motor vehicle, saying that he bought the motor vehicle from Besa on September 8, 2023.
Mungwena said he had partly paid the purchase price and no Agreement of Sale was crafted as it was based on trust because Besa was his friend and workmate.
Mungwena took advantage of the death of Mauswa’s husband and that he was in occupation of the motor vehicle at the time of her husband’s demise.
This prompted Mauswa to report the matter to police in Harare.
On April 20, Mungwena surrendered himself to police at CID VTS Harare and upon being interviewed it was established that he surrendered the motor vehicle to ZRP Bulawayo Traffic through his wife after he learnt that there was a reported case. — NewZimbabwe
