Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) MDC councillor acquires property fraudulently

MDC councillor acquires property fraudulently
Raymond Utsiwegota
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:29:00 +000

MDC-T Councillor for Glen Norah, Peter Marange, is accused of attempting to fraudulently acquire title to a property in the area with the connivance of a council official, it has been learned.

This comes hard on the heels of numerous corruption allegations that have been levelled against most MDC-T led local councils and officials, dealing a crippling blow to the political party that has found it hard to live up to its recently adopted credo of “party of excellence.”

According to sources, the wrangle began soon after the death of Japhet Jokonya who was the son and custodian of house number 2321 in Glen Norah. The elder Jokonya, the owner, passed away years back leaving Japhet in charge of the property.

“Mr Jokonya died years back. Since Japhet was the eldest son, he assumed sole responsibility and when he died in 2009, Clr Marange saw an opportunity to exploit for unjust personal enrichment,” said one resident.

Another pointed out that Clr Marange’s avarice stemmed from a misconception that Jokonya did not have surviving relatives privy to the existence of the property, a situation that had prompted the local community to intervene by notifying the deceased’ son who is employed by the Zimbabwe National Army.

“We mobilized as the local community and prevented Clr Marange from assuming ownership of the Jokonya property.

“In fact, he had gone as far as fraudulently altering particulars of that property to reflect his name through connivance with an official at the local superintendent’ offices.

We notified the son, Ephraim, who works out of Harare as well as local leadership across the political divide and further prevented the eviction of sitting tenants by the Clr,” said an irate resident.

A view shared by many is that MDC-T officials are accumulating illicit wealth to compensate for the time they spent on the periphery and political doldrums.

A social scientist and political commentator who requested anonymity opined that the MDC-T has tended to promise so much but deliver very little, a development that has immensely eroded the party’ popularity even in its urban strongholds.

“Just like the colours revolution in Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, these guys promised so much but delivered so little due to preoccupation with empire-building and the masses are getting impatient.

“I will not be surprised if MDC-T performs dismally in the next elections,” he said.

Marange joins a long inglorious list of MDC-T officials facing criminal accusations. Israel Marange, former Chitungwiza mayor and Godfrey Mangoma, a councilor, have been jailed for swindling home seekers of various amounts of money after falsely promising to secure them housing stands in the city.

Four MDC-T House of Assembly members were last year convicted of electoral fraud and political violence and are serving various jail terms while three others were acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence.

Giles Mutsekwa, Elias Mudzuri and Zwizwai Murisi are currently the subject of a corruption probe by the party.

Efforts to get comment from MDC-T spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa, were fruitless as his phone was constantly engaged whereas calls to the Harare City Council were not answered.

Labels: HYPOCRISY, LAND REFORM, MDC, MDC CORRUPTION, PETER MARANGE

posted by MrK @ 4:26 AM