Emmanuel Maganjera Mukwewa a lawyer has been charged with scamming a Chinese national of $170,000 through a fictitious land transaction. Cardinal Stanford Mambanje, the regional magistrate for Harare, remanded Emmanuel Maganjera Mukwewa, 49, until July 30. Huang Liqiang, a 49-year-old plaintiff, works in mining.
Mukwewa, a conveyancer, estate administrator, and notary, is accused of working with Richard Paswa to trick Liqiang. Prosecutor Anesu Chirenje claims that in September 2023, Paswa posted an advertisement on a WhatsApp group regarding a parcel of land in Arcadia at the intersection of Seke and Cripps Roads. Paswa claimed the land measured 20,000 square meters and was valued at US$400,000.
On September 9, when Liqiang showed interest, Paswa led him to Mukwewa Law Chambers, located at 276 Samora Machel Avenue in Harare. Paswa asked for a US$170,000 down payment; the rest sum was needed after the conveyancing process was finished.
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Mukwewa allegedly promised to pay US$70,000 upon completing the selling agreement and US$100,000 upon delivering City of Harare circulars and designs. They tricked Liqiang into paying the extra $100,000 by presenting him with a fake diagram. Mukwewa purportedly changed the money for his own use after receiving all payments through his legal practice.
Liqiang awaited news, anticipating more progress to settle the outstanding amount. Upon seeing that the area was walled on March 28, 2024, he made the decision to get in touch with Mukwewa and Paswa. Paswa was inaccessible and Mukwewa become evasive.
After realizing he had been tricked, Liqiang went to the police and reported the occurrence, which resulted in Mukwewa’s detention and Paswa’s continued freedom. Examinations showed that Liqiang and Paswa had no valid sale agreement. Rather, Mukwewa wrote an immovable property consultancy agreement, aware of Liqiang’s low ability in English. Subsequent inquiries revealed that Newsprings Investments (Pvt) Ltd was the rightful owner of the land, having acquired it from the City Council in 2019.
