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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
BUBI Rural District Council chief executive officer, Mr Partson Mlilo is being accused of abusing his office by clandestinely buying a council truck in 2013 in an auction through a third-party and using fake papers to register it in his name.

This emerged when the aggrieved party, Mr Khanyiso Khabo, purported to have bought the car from the council seven years ago, discovered that it was registered under Mr Mlilo without his knowledge.

Mr Khabo is accusing Mr Mlilo of using unorthodox means to change ownership of the car and registering it under his name by using a copy of an affidavit containing his fake signature.

According to the affidavit, Mr Khabo and Mr Mlilo entered into an agreement in which the former purportedly sold a white 1997 model Mazda B1800 (registration number AAB5845) to the latter, after buying it from Bubi RDC auction sale.

Chronicle is in possession of an “agreement of sale” between Mr Khabo and Bubi RDC dated 10 April 2013 stating that the car was bought from the council for US$4 500.

“The price shall be US$4 500 paid as cash, ownership, which is in Bubi RDC shall be changed at the buyer’s cost. The buyer will be given the book after paying the full purchase price,” read the document.

However, the full names of the witnesses were not stated in the document save for the buyer’s signature.

Mr Khabo said he bought the car and council officials repossessed it a few days later acting on Mr Mlilo’s orders and he was refunded his money.

“The car deal didn’t go well. I bought the vehicle from council for US$4 300 in 2013 and it was later repossessed by council a few days later under unclear circumstances. I was told it was undercharged and advised to wait for feedback from council,” he said.

Mr Khabo said he kept monitoring the car and in 2017, he got suspicious when he discovered that the number plates had been changed.

“I got suspicious and later discovered that the car was now registered under Mr Mlilo’s name. When I went to the council offices on June 17, I got the shock of my life when upon enquiring, they showed me a purported agreement of sale for the car,” he said.

Mr Mlilo said he bought the car from Mr Khabo and changed the number plates in 2015. He said at the time Mr Khabo bought the car at the auction, he was bedridden and undergoing a surgical operation following an accident.

“There was a council auction for three cars in November 2012 and I was not there. Mr Khabo bid for all the three cars and he was the highest bidder for one of the cars and bought it. However, six months down the line, there was a certain person who was selling a two-tonne truck and Mr Khabo wanted it and that is when he approached me and offered to sell his Mazda B1800 to me,” he said.

“When Khabo realised that his story was not adding up, he is now claiming that I stole his car and this is a new story that he is crafting to say his car, which he bought from the auction had its ownership illegally changed. Why was he quiet all these years if indeed he was seeing me driving the car around?”

Mr Mlilo said he then changed the plates in 2015.

“He offered to sell the car to me for US$4 500, I gave him US$2 500 and took the car. I didn’t bother to change ownership and the number plates until police started demanding explanations from my workers whenever they saw it carrying carcasses because it had council number plates,” he said.

Mr Mlilo accused Mr Khabo of working in cahoots with villagers under the banner ‘Inyathi Pressure Group,’ to soil his name.

He said the villagers, who live around Inyathi Business Centre are not happy with the expansion of a modern township around the centre as they believe that its development would result in them being displaced.

Mr Mlilo also claimed that he was being victimised by the pressure group, which is accusing him of allocating stands to people outside the area.

“It is against this background that the villagers have been against the growth of the business centre into a town and have stood firm against construction of modern township houses, saying they wanted to remain in their old rural homesteads. They are now fighting me and they have erected homes around the business centre and it is illegal,” said Mr Mlilo.

He accused Mr Khabo of financing the pressure group to fight him after council threatened to evict them for erecting “illegal structures” on its land in violation of council by-laws.

“They have illegally pegged about 200 stands around the centre because they have political backing,” said Mr Mlilo.

Mr Mlilo is also being accused of a series of irregularities which include allegedly buying himself an official vehicle, a Toyota D4D pick up from Umguza Rural District Council without going through the tender processes.

It is alleged he has an arrangement with the council to buy the car in instalments.

“The allegation is that he may have influenced the council to purchase the vehicle without going through the tender process fully knowing that he will be a final beneficiary,” read an anonymous letter.

According to the document, Mr Mlilo is also accused of embezzling Bubi Community Share Ownership Trust funds, abusing its property and allegedly pocketing money realised from compressors hired out to individuals for their mining activities.

Mr Mlilo dismissed the allegations, saying they were used by his opponents to cover up for their illegal activities revolving around illegal allocation and selling of residential and business stands without council approval.

“I am aware of an anonymous letter with 11 allegations against me, which are not substantiated and one of the people behind this document is Mr Khabo who is now changing stories, claiming that he gave me the money to buy him a council car. I then proved him wrong because when that auction happened, I was on suspension and on that particular day, I was also bedridden following an accident and was not in Inyathi,” he said.

Bubi RDC chairperson Clr Cookie Moyo refused to comment. — @mashnets