via Zanu-PF official granted bail | The Herald January 13, 2014
Zanu-PF official, Justin Zvandasara, who was recently jailed for two years over a fraud case involving US$4 million, was last Wednesday granted US$50 bail pending appeal. He was released from prison on Thursday. Zvandasara was last year convicted of grabbing many hectares of land belonging to Mutare legislator Cde Nyasha Chikwinya in Hatcliffe and allocating it to an unsuspecting homeseeker.
He defrauded Cde Chikwinya and land developer Mr Jonathan Gapare of US$4 million.
High Court judge Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, ordered Zvandasara’s release after agreeing with his lawyer Mr Tapson Dzvetero, that he was a proper candidate for bail.
Mr Dzvetero also argued that his client’s appeal had merit and that prospects of success were high.
The magistrate, Mr Temba Kuwanda, sentenced Zvandasara to four years in prison but suspended two years on condition of good behaviour.
Zvandasara was jailed together with Tichaona Suruware, while another accomplice Blessing Sigareta was acquitted.
Suruware’s bail application is yet to be set down for hearing at the High Court.
In the notice appeal filed at the High Court, Zvandasara is challenging both conviction and sentence.
He is arguing that the magistrate convicted him under circumstances where there were no essential elements of fraud.
Zvandasara argues that the State failed to prove any misrepresentation on his part and that the State witnesses were discredited.
The State witnesses, according to Zvandasara, gave evidence that actually exonerated him.
It is Zvandasara’s argument that the case was largely political and civil and that his conviction was not appropriate. Zvandasara of Plot 7 Weston Glen Forest is the president of an unregistered Harare North Housing Co-operative Union, while Cde Chikwinya is the director of Pilgrims Rest Properties, which specialises in property development.
During the land redistribution exercise, Cde Chikwinya was allocated Pilgrims Rest Farm measuring 150 hectares.
But Government demarcated the land into two and the other half was allocated to Mama Mafuyana Housing Co-operative.
Alternative land for Cde Chikwinya’s company was also identified at Hatcliffe North Phase 2.
She obtained a development permit number SL818 from the Department of Physical Planning.
On June 21 2011, Cde Chikwinya and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development, signed a memorandum of agreement allocating the land and transferring administration into her name.
She started servicing the land, subdividing it into low, medium and high-density stands under layout plan number HOE27.
Zvandasara and Suruware who knew about the project, misrepresented to unsuspecting home seekers that they had lawfully acquired the same piece of land.
They sold 496 stands to home seekers who immediately occupied the land.
In the second count, the complainant is the chairman of Alpha Developers, Mr Jonathan Gapare, who is said to be also in the business of developing properties.
Mr Gapare applied to Government for a piece of land adjacent to that of Cde Chikwinya for land development by his company Alpha Developers.
Zvandasara and Suruware also sold 324 stands belonging to Mr Gapare.
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