Tinomutenda Midzi
MASVINGO – A Zanu PF councillor, who is supposed to be leading an exemplary life for the people he leads, has been nabbed for possessing fake United States Dollars after a futile attempt to dupe a number of EcoCash agents and supermarkets in Masvingo urban last week.
Nomore Nyoni, the Ward 6 councillor in Zvishavane-Ngezi constituency, allegedly connived with his brother Pardon Nyoni and one Lovemore Cheure to dupe EcoCash agents and supermarkets in Masvingo Urban where they used the counterfeits to cash-in and to buy goods.
The case is being investigated by the Masvingo Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the suspects were released on bail by the Masvingo Provincial Court after their case was postponed to October 24, 2016.
Sources privy to the case said Nomore went to the EcoCash shop at Lake Harvest and tried to deposit US$450 into his wallet but the alert agent scanned the money on a device and realised it was counterfeit.
A jittery Nomore is then said to have demanded to scan the money himself as he insisted it was not fake.
“He said he wanted to do it himself but I refused. He indicated that he wanted to do the cash-in so that he could send the money to somebody else who was waiting for it. After he failed to get his way, he left the shop in a huff and uttered some unpleasant words to me.
“After a short moment, he returned saying he now wanted to deposit US$460. I became even more suspicious. Coincidentally, there were other people who knew him and they tipped us off that he was a fraudster,” said the EcoCash shop attendant.
Shop doors were then closed and police were called but the alleged fraudsters quickly jumped into a gate away car; a Toyota Mark II which was allegedly being driven by Cheure and the trio fled the scene.
The speeding car would, however, be involved in an accident at Glow Petroleum service station in the CBD and the trio were then reportedly caught with a total of US$950 in counterfeit banknotes.news
