Two Bulawayo residents face fraud allegations after allegedly deceiving an investor out of $60,000 through a fabricated railway contract scheme. Stephen Chitofu and Lakidzani Chitofu denied the charges during their court appearance before regional magistrate Taurai Manuwere, with proceedings set to resume next month.
Prosecutors claim the pair, working alongside an accomplice who remains at large, falsely represented Stephen as a National Railways of Zimbabwe employee who had secured a tender requiring capital investment. The accused allegedly offered a Waterford property as collateral, which later proved to belong to someone else. Investigators determined the railway tender never existed, and neither defendant maintained employment with the state-owned transport entity.
Prosecutors claim the pair, working alongside an accomplice who remains at large, falsely represented Stephen as a National Railways of Zimbabwe employee who had secured a tender requiring capital investment. The accused allegedly offered a Waterford property as collateral, which later proved to belong to someone else. Investigators determined the railway tender never existed, and neither defendant maintained employment with the state-owned transport entity.
