Man charged for E35k bogus land sale
MBABANE – A man was arrested and charged with an offence of theft by false pretences.
Si]we Dube of E]ulwini, who allegedly paraded himself as Nhlanhla .humalo on the day he committed the offence, robbed Xolile Beatrice Shongwe of Msundu]a money amounting to E35 000, after promising to sell her a piece of land. Dube is said to have committed the offence sometime in 2ctober 0 8, in E]ulwini.
:hen appearing before Mbabane Magistrate Xolile Nxumalo, his right to legal representation was explained to him and he elected to conduct his own defence. The accused person pleaded guilty of the charge.
Shongwe told the court that in 2ctober 0 8, she got her child’s pension after the passing of her fiancé.
Investment
She said she then told her friend while at the Mbabane Bus Rank of her desire to buy a piece of land as a future investment for her child.
³Three days after having had the discussion with my friend, I received a call from someone who identified himself as Ntobeko Ma]iya, saying he heard that I was in need of a piece of land. After our discussions, he then referred me to Nhlanhla .humalo of E]ulwini,” she said.
According to Shongwe, the accused person called her to enquire about the money she had budgeted towards the buying of the land.
In response, the complainant said she told him that she wanted land not exceeding E35 000.
³He then said to me, a certain soldier was selling a piece of land at E 0 000 had agreed to take E35 000 but I must pay on that very Saturday, so I went to Egelekeceni, E]ulwini, with the accused person to see the land. I asked )e]ile Sikhosana, my sister’s child, to accompany me,” she said.
She said after that, she visited Ma]iya at his workplace, at the Corner Pla]a, regarding the logistics of the payments.
Shongwe said after the discussion with the duo, they pressured her into making the payment. The complainant said she tried to explain to the accused person that she kept the money at the bank.
³I even showed the accused person my bank book as proof that I had money in my account. I then pleaded with him to allow me to withdraw the money on a Monday, to which he agreed,” she said.
Soldier
Early on Monday morning, Shongwe said she was woken up by the accused person’s call, telling her to pay the money as promised since the soldier was in need of it.
Shongwe said she rushed to her bank that Monday morning to withdraw the money, amounting to E35 000.
³After giving them the money, I then asked that we go to the police station for the signing of documents, indicating that I had purchased the land . The accused person told me that that there was no need for doing that, since he was a trustworthy man, and above all, the owner of the land,” she explained.
She said ³The accused person gave me a form to sign as a confirmation that I bought the piece of land from the chief of the area. I signed the documents, together with *cinile Ngobese, a friend as well as witness in all the transactions made.”
Shongwe said the accused person called a taxi, where the money was counted before he departed. She said she was given copies of the documents she signed and left at her home.
During the cross-examination stage by the Crown, she stated that she never used the piece of land she bought from the accused person.
Some other day, she said after taking her child to the clinic, she met Bongiwe Dlamini, one of her primary school classmates, whom he said was in dire need of a piece of land.
³I told her that I got mine in E]ulwini. She asked me to share contacts of the man who sold me this piece of land. A few days later, Dlamini called and requested to see me regarding the selling of land.
Elders
³Dlamini said they visited the community only to find out more about Nhlanhla selling pieces of land. She told me that community elders don’t know any person called Nhlanhla,” she said.
After hearing such, Shongwe is said to have called the accused person to ask him about this.
³He dropped my calls and later on, he stopped taking my calls. I then reported the matter to the police. I did not receive any feedback from the investigator about the accused person’s identity,” she said.
Two documents showing proof of payment as well as being the owner of the land were presented by the Crown before court as exhibits.
The accused person did not oppose the Crown’s application to hand over the documents as exhibits.
The matter was postponed to March , 0 for submissions.