A secretary at a housing development company in Masvingo has been arrested on allegations of fraud after reportedly selling land that had been reserved for a public school, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) says.
In a statement, ZACC said Nicholas Serima, a secretary at Innop Housing Development (Pvt) Ltd was arrested over claims that he misrepresented ownership of a residential stand in Victoria Range.
According to investigations, Serima allegedly deceived a prospective buyer, Dr Tinashe Chiremba into purchasing land that did not belong to the housing company.
“It is alleged that Serima deceived Dr Tinashe Chiremba into buying a piece of land at Victoria Range, Masvingo,” ZACC said.
Investigations reportedly established that the land in question had been set aside for the construction of a public school and was not owned by Innop Housing Development (Pvt) Ltd.
“As a result of the misrepresentation, Dr Chiremba suffered prejudice amounting to US$6,000,” the anti-graft body said.
ZACC said the accused would appear in court on summons with the date yet to be confirmed.
The arrest comes amid ongoing efforts by authorities to clamp down on alleged land-related fraud cases which have become increasingly common in parts of the country as demand for residential stands continues to rise.
