Musician Energy Mutodi acquitted

Fungai Lupande Court Reporter
Flamboyant businessman and musician Energy Mutodi was yesterday acquitted on allegations of swindling desperate home-seekers of over $588 000 through his National Housing Delivery Trust.

Mutodi was charged together with his company trustee Mr Boniface Chikono, who was also acquitted.

In granting Mutodi’s application for discharge at the close of the State case, Harare magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya said Mutodi may have embezzled some funds from the company.

He said the case in point was the $10 000 for which his former projects manager Chandafira Pasipamire told the court, “a distraught looking Mutodi came in the company of two police officers and took $10 000 after he was involved in a fatal road accident.”

But Mr Mujaya said the matter was civil.

“The housing scheme was meant for desperate home-seekers the case of Dr Portia Manangazira (Head of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Department in the Ministry of Health and Child Care), is a case in point where senior civil servants thought they would get accommodation,” said Mr Mujaya.

“However, some houses were built and some people got stands. There was no problem at the Bulawayo scheme as Pasipanodya told the court that Mutodi said the Ndebele’s are troublesome.” Mr Mujaya said that Pasipanodya said there was genuine land, therefore, the matter was civil. It was alleged that a Kingdom Bank account 49034067 was opened at the formation of NHDT and Mutodi and Chikono were the signatories.

The pair went on to apply for a deduction code with the Salary Service Bureau (SSB) and was granted code number 47453 to effect deductions from salaries of civil servants who would have joined the scheme.

Sometime in 2007, the NHDT allegedly made Mutodi the sole signatory for all transactions in relation to the Trust, it was alleged.

Civil servants paid through SSB while other people paid cash and some were given allocation agreements.

It was alleged that $588 787 was paid into the account and Mutodi converted it to his own use.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey