R440 000 fraudster convicted

Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje has convicted a man who defrauded a South African-based mining company of R440 000.
Calton Muduwiwa (39) was convicted of fraud after a full trial.
Prosecutor Mr Ngoni Kaseke submitted that the accused was facing a serious offence that could attract a sentence of up to 35 years.
He said the amount involved was huge, adding that the complainant would not be able to recover it.
Mr Kaseke also said the accused was the complainant’s friend, hence he broke his trust.
The complainant in this case is Davure Mining, represented by its manager Masimba Mukarati.
Davure Mining has subsidiaries in South Africa and Zimbabwe and has interests in mining and agriculture.
The court heard that on October 20, 2021, Mukarati wanted to acquire a Toyota Hilux Legend 50 double-cab from South Africa. He shared the information with Muduwiwa, who subsequently volunteered to assist him in importing the vehicle.
Acting upon Muduwiwa’s instruction, Davure Mining paid Wish Worthy Investments for the vehicle.
After the payment, Mukarati reportedly availed proof of payment to Muduwiwa, but the vehicle was not availed.
Muduwiwa later became evasive.
Mukarati then reported the matter to the police, leading to Muduwiwa’s arrest.