Bulawayo’s Ward 1 councillor, Josiah Mutangi, and his co-accused, Janet Zhou, will know next week whether four of the 14 fraud charges they face will be dismissed.
The pair, accused of swindling local vendors, applied for discharge through their lawyer, Constance Mathaba of Makiye and Partners. Magistrate Richard Ramaboea postponed his ruling to 9 October.
If successful, Mutangi and Zhou would stand trial on 10 counts instead of 14.
The defence argued that the accused never received money directly from vendors, saying payments were made to an association responsible for allocating vending bays. They claimed stalls had been offered in the city centre but complainants rejected the locations and demanded refunds.
The dispute was reported to police, leading to the pair’s arrest.
According to the state, in February last year, Mutangi and Zhou allegedly met with the vendors at the corner of 5th Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street, where they falsely claimed to have available vending spaces.
The vendors, believing the two, paid US$200 each for the bays. However, the pair reportedly failed to fulfill their promises and never provided the agreed-upon vending spaces.
The 14 victims, including Chishamiso Chihota, subsequently reported the matter to the police, leading to the pair’s arrest.
They were later granted US$400 bail each.
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