A Bulawayo businessman has appeared before a Harare magistrate facing charges of fraud after a botched land deal saw the Managing Director of Toppers Uniform losing close to USD$1.5 million.
Ismail Moosa Lunat sold the residential stand to Mahomed Zakanya while knowing very well that the property belonged to someone else.
Lunat appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa facing charges of fraud.
Prosecuting George Manokore alleged that Sometime in August last year Lunat contacted Zakanya who was in Harare advising him that he was selling a piece of land pegged at USD$1.5 million.
As a result Zikanya went to Bulawayo to view the property and got interested and negotiations went underway with the price going down to USD$1,4 million.
On September 4, Lunat drafted an Agreement of sale indicating that he was selling the property on behalf of one of his companies called Converging Investments(Pvt) Limited. Further Lunat gave Zakanya the original copy of the Title Deed for him to see.
The Agreement of Sale was signed after Zakanya paid a deposit of USD$1 million in cash further advising Lunat that he would settle the balance before December 15.
On December 14, Zakanya paid the outstanding balance before Lunat handed over the original copy of the Title Deeds to the property.
A week later Zakanya made a follow-up with Lunat so that conveyance process could begin but Lunat became evasive prompting Zakanya to check the status of the property with the Registrar of Deeds where he discovered that the property was registered in the name of Timothy Mafuka Nkomo instead.
Further investigation revealed that Nkomo had purchased the said property from Lunat in 2005 and hence he was the lawful owner of the property and that he was not sell it.
