Zim GBC News | Crimes and Courts<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BULAWAYO \u2013 A Bulawayo magistrate has dismissed an application to drop four of the 14 fraud charges against Ward 1 Councillor Josiah Mutangi and his co-accused, Janet Zhou, ruling that the state has established a prima facie case against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The duo is accused of swindling 14 vendors of US$200 each by falsely promising to secure vending bays in the city centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through their lawyer, Constance Mathaba, Mutangi and Zhou had sought the dismissal of four specific counts. They argued that the complainants for two counts did not testify, while the witnesses for two others allegedly confessed to never handing any money to the accused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Magistrate Richard Ramaboea dismissed the application, finding that the state had led sufficient evidence to require the pair to answer the charges. The case subsequently proceeded to the defence stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking the stand, both accused denied any wrongdoing. Councillor Mutangi, who identifies as the president of the Bulawayo City Achievers association, claimed the payments were legitimate joining fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur association works together with the city council as we seek to support informal traders,\u201d Mutangi told the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe city council is using by-laws that were passed in 2010, which state that vendors can only be allocated bays through associations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He asserted that the US$200 fee covered administration and processing, and that all vendors were issued receipts. He blamed the fraud claims on vendors who were unhappy with being allocated bays at Baktas instead of their preferred location on Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe reports they made of fraud are false; they are misrepresenting facts,\u201d Mutangi testified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state, led by prosecutor Brenda Nyoni, fiercely challenged his testimony, pointing to inconsistencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no evidence that these receipts actually came from the book you are referring to,\u201d Nyoni argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHad it been the case that the complainants had formally made payments, you would have presented these documents at the very early stages of this trial. This is an afterthought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She further questioned Mutangi\u2019s credibility, stating,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll the witnesses came here and testified, but at no point did you challenge their testimonies\u2026 How do you expect the court to believe you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Co-accused Janet Zhou also denied the charges, alleging they were \u201cmalicious and politically motivated\u201d due to a position she holds at the market. She testified that she merely directed vendors to the association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI advised them to go to the association offices in the city centre to get full details,\u201d Zhou said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under cross-examination, Zhou revealed that communication within the association was conducted via WhatsApp, and she admitted to never attending meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The matter was postponed to October 22, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Follow us on social media for more breaking news:
\u00b7X (Twitter): @ZimGbc
\u00b7Instagram: @ZimGBCNews
\u00b7TikTok: @ZimGBCNews_01
\u00b7Facebook: Zim GBC News
\u00b7YouTube: Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get real-time alerts on WhatsApp:
+263 773 820 323<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For in-depth coverage, visit our website: www.zimgbcnews.co.zw<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a92025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zim GBC News | Crimes and Courts BULAWAYO \u2013 A Bulawayo magistrate has dismissed an application to drop four of the 14 fraud charges against Ward 1 Councillor Josiah Mutangi… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-court-and-crime-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10063,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10061\/revisions\/10063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}