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Nokutenda Chiyangwa Herald Reporter
MDC Alliance candidate for Mutare North constituency Godfrey Munyamana was last week issued with a warrant of arrest after he failed to appear in court over a case in which he is facing $380 000 fraud charges.

Munyamana was set to appear before Harare magistrate Mr Elisha Singano on June 14 for trial continuation but failed to do so.

Munyamana, who is being represented by Mr Rungano Mahuni, is alleged to have defrauded one Frank Humbe in a botched house deal.

The State, which is represented by Michael Reza, applied for Munyamana’s arrest which the magistrate granted.

Initially when the trial began, Munyamana pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyer, Mr Mahuni, challenged the prosecution saying his client had agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

The State, however, dismissed this challenge arguing that the court should have an opportunity to listen to Humbe.

According to the State, Humbe paid the accused $380 000 towards the purchase of a house Manyamana had advertised for sale.

Humbe also told the court that when he paid Munyamana the money, he was supposed to look for alternative accommodation so that Humbe could move into his new property.

Munyamana, according to Humbe, became non-committal to the arrangement as he failed to move out of the premises, leading to the loss of Humbe’s money which was never recovered.