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 Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter

A 58-year-old man from Killarney suburb in Bulawayo allegedly lost $567 500 to a bogus distribution manager who had promised to sell him rice and mealie at a discount.

Bothwell Nyabani, who is on the run called his victim on July 29 and told him to take advantage of the “special” offer.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident and said the complainant has not recovered anything yet.

“Police in Bulawayo are investigating a case of fraud where the complainant was defrauded of $567 500 and nothing was recovered. The accused person is a male adult only known as Bothwell Nyabani who claimed to be a distribution manager from Silo Belmont, Bulawayo,” he said.

“On 29 July 2021, at around 09AM the complainant received a call on his mobile number from the accused person informing the complainant that his company, Silo Belmont was running a sales promotion for mealie-meal and rice.”

He said Nyabani encouraged the complainant to take advantage of the promotion and order in bulk mealie- meal at a reduced price of $350 per 10kg and $85-00 for 2kg rice.

Insp Ncube said the complainant was convinced and agreed to buy 10 tonnes of mealie-meal and five tonnes of rice for a total amount of $567 500-00 which was to be paid through a bank transfer to a CABS account provided by the accused person.

“The complainant then sent the driver to collect the order on the same day. The complainant supplied the driver’s number to the accused person and advised him that the driver was on his way. However, the accused person phoned the driver whilst he was on his way to Silo Belmont to collect the order and informed him that the order was not yet ready, and the driver drove back,” said Insp Ncube.

He added that the complainant tried on numerous occasions to collect his order but it was in vain as Nyabani kept on giving excuses.

“The complainant became suspicious and proceeded to Silo Belmont to verify whether the accused person was a genuine employee of Silo Belmont. Upon arrival at Silo, he was told that the company does not have such a worker by the name Bothwell Nyabani,” said Insp Ncube. “This is when the complainant discovered that he had been duped and proceeded to the police where he reported the case. Police are urging members of the public to be cautious when dealing with such proclaimed company managers as they risk being duped of their hard-earned cash.”

Insp Ncube emphasized that it was important for members of the public to insist on having land lines to call and verify or visit the place, if possible, for due diligence.

“Police are also appealing to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the accused person to visit any nearest police station for justice to be served and to avoid more such cases,” said Insp Ncube.

-@thamamoe