Court Reporter
KINGSTONS Holdings chief executive Brian Sedze, accused of swindling his employer of more than US$60 000, will remain in custody after a Harare magistrate dismissed his bail application. He is facing two counts of fraud. In dismissing the application, magistrate Ms Anita Tshuma said Sedze was a flight risk.
She added that Sedze was likely to abscond trial if granted bail considering that he has several similar pending cases.
Ms Tshuma remanded him in custody to September 27.
Charges against Sedze arose during a period preceding the month of February last year, when Kingstons Holdings owed the National Social Security Authority US$43 552,54 for non-payment of statutory obligations.
On February 8, NSSA obtained a High Court judgment against Kingstons to attach its property. Sedze, it is alleged, hatched a plan to defraud the company and misrepresented to Kingstons Holdings that he had secured a financier called Rachet Investments that was willing to lend US$31 000 to service the NSSA debt.
The money was to be paid directly to NSSA and Sedze was the interface in the transactions, says the State.
Charges against Sedze arose between August 4, 2012 and February 17 this year, when he submitted, on different occasions to NSSA, contrived electronic transfer copies with a combined figure of US$48 000 purporting to be Rachet Investments’ payments to NSSA. Afterwards Sedze allegedly claimed US$25 362 from Kingdom Holdings saying the money would cover legal fees and interest charged on the loan advanced by the purported financiers.
He allegedly converted the money to his own use.
On the second count, the State alleges that on January 10 last year, Sedze bought Stand Number 65 Rydale Ridge Park worth US$17 000 through a real estate agent.
Between February 4 and 16, Sedze allegedly misrepresented to the company that US$10 000 was due in legal fees arising from litigation involving Kingstons before he was given the money.
He allegedly used the money to buy the stand.