By Judith Nyuke
A Harare magistrate has issued a warrant of arrest for hip-hop artist Tinashe Gonzara better known as Ti Gonzi after he failed to appear in court as a witness in a fraud case involving Prophet Walter Magaya’s bodyguard.
The case centres on Tapiwa Felix Chikondo, a security aide at Magaya’s Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries who is accused of smuggling a vehicle into the country and later selling it to the musician.
According to prosecutors, the complainant in the matter is the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) represented by revenue supervisor Collins Ncube.
The State alleges that Chikondo smuggled a Japanese-imported Toyota Mark X into the country between July and August last year.
Chikondo is said to have obtained the vehicle at Yadah Hotel in Waterfalls, Harare and later devised a plan to disguise it as a locally registered car.
He allegedly used the registration details of another vehicle — a Toyota Mark X registered under the name Dumisani Dube — to acquire a new set of number plates.
The smuggled car now bearing the false registration number ABX 7852 was then sold to Ti Gonzi for US$5 000.
Officials from the Vehicle Theft Squad impounded the car on 7 January this year in Mbare where it was being driven by the musician.
Police reportedly informed Ti Gonzi that the vehicle had been smuggled into the country and fitted with fake number plates.
Further investigations revealed that the car had not been cleared through customs and that ZIMRA had received no record of import duty payment resulting in a prejudice of US$3 389.55 to the tax authority.
The State alleges that on 29 August last year Ti Gonzi visited Eastlea Car Sales in search of a vehicle.
There, he met car dealer Jarmine Rubatika, who directed him to the Yadah Hotel car park where Chikondo allegedly offered him the smuggled Toyota Mark X.
The musician’s failure to appear in court prompted the magistrate to issue the warrant for his arrest.
