Byo housing scammer nabbed

  A man who allegedly went around the city defrauding people of their money by promising them houses to rent—which, of course, they never got—has been taken into custody by police in Bulawayo. Gerald Sibanda appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Maxwell Ncube last week. According to sources, he works out of the Parkade Centre at the National Railways of Zimbabwe headquarters.He was placed on US$200 bond and was not asked to enter a plea. He will receive a summons to appear in court. Mary Nyika of Macharaga Law Chambers, the complainants' attorney, informed the court that Sibanda would occasionally pose as a property manager or real estate agent and other times as a landlord.  

  Agents would supposedly direct desperate residents to Sibanda, who would then purportedly exhibit the customers' homes under the guise that the tenants would be moving out. Occasionally, he would show prospective tenants apartments that were undergoing renovations and persuade them to pay a deposit that was perhaps $500 USD in relation to the monthly rent. The smallest amount he took, out of all the counts I have, ranges from US$500 to almost US$1 200. He was charged with eight charges when he was brought before the court, but we were informed that other people had shown up to file reports. Nyika claimed, "He had been detained for two days.  

  She added that this might have been a planned criminal act, adding that some of her clients ended up stuck. Nyika claimed that in order to apprehend the accused, police had to entice him with the help of one of his former coworkers.