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Mbabane – Mbabane socialite Bhekumuzi Paul Mamba, popularly known as “Katso”, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding unsuspecting land seekers of EGP 277,050.
It is worth noting that this is the second time that Mamba has been arrested for almost similar crimes and has been released on bail. Mamba, who claims to be a real estate agent, was arrested on Friday at the Mbabane Magistrates’ Court where he was previously sent for a remand hearing on several charges. He made his first appearance at the Mbabane Magistrates Court before Magistrate Lenhle Zulu, where he faced three charges of theft by deception.
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It is alleged that around October to December 2022, Mamba placed advertisements in the Times of Swaziland to trick unsuspecting land seekers into paying for non-existent land. In the first charge, Mamba allegedly lied to Thandeka Nokuthula Sacolo that he would sell her a two-bedroom house in Msunduza, Mbabane, and a plot of land with a studio apartment in Mahwalala. As a result of his false representations, Mamba allegedly received a sum of €125,900 from Sacolo. The crime allegedly occurred around December 2022, according to the indictment.
In the second charge, Mamba allegedly falsely represented to Ntombifuthi Lungile Shabangu through an advertisement in the Times of Swaziland that he was selling a two-bedroom house in Msunduza and a piece of land with a flat in Area 4, Mahwalala. As a result of this false statement, Mamba allegedly obtained a sum of EGP 57,918 from Shabangu.Mamba was also accused of lying to Douglas Mbuso Silongonyane through the Times of Swaziland that he would sell a piece of land in Nkwalini Area 2 to Douglas Mbuso Silongonyane and received a sum of EGP 93,232 from him.
The defendants were charged with violating Section 4(1) and Sections 76 and 89 of the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act 2011.
It is alleged that in June 2023, Mamba was acting in his personal capacity in or near Mbabane and knew or ought to have known that the amount of EGP 277,050 obtained from three persons was or constituted part of the offence of theft by fraud.
Influence
It is alleged that Mamba was likely to conceal, invest, manage, disguise and dispose of the money as proceeds of crime and knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that the money was proceeds of crime. Prosecutors requested that Mamba be detained until August 30, 2024, pending a High Court trial. Mamba arrived at the court under the escort of plainclothes police officers. His eyes darted around to make sure he was not caught on camera. Walking freely, Mamba rushed to a reporter and berated him for taking his photo. “Taking photos without my permission, you fool…” he said in vernacular, which roughly means “You rushed to take photos without my permission. You fool.” Police were said to have been searching for Mamba for some time and stopped him during a remand hearing on Friday.
commotion
According to witnesses, there was a commotion when law enforcement officers saw Mamba walking down the stairs to the underground courtroom.
“When the police saw him coming down the stairs, they thought he was going to flee. When Mamba got involved in a commotion with the police, duty officer Akona Drudru at Mbabane police station had to intervene to calm the situation. He was then allowed to enter the court under surveillance before being arrested again after a remand hearing,” the eyewitness said.
Previously, Mamba and three others were out on bail for almost similar crimes.In previous charges, Mamba and his co-accused were alleged to have received a total of LE436,900 from unsuspecting land seekers as they falsely presented themselves as agents for plots of land around Mbabane.
According to the allegations, the desperate land seekers paid amounts ranging from 4,500 Egyptian pounds to 120,000 Egyptian pounds.
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