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Nomvelo Siziba, Chronicle Reporter

VICTORIA Falls Mayor Somveli Dlamini appeared in court yesterday facing allegations of abuse of office.

Clr Dlamini was arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission over the weekend for allegedly failing to abide by the terms and conditions set by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works on disposal of stands acquired on assumption of term of office as mayor or councillor. 

The condition is that the stand must not be sold when one is still in office and title deeds must not be issued before development of the stand.

Clr Dlamini was not asked to plead to criminal abuse of duty as a public officer when he appeared before Victoria Falls magistrate Ms Lindiwe Maphosa.

He was remanded to February 25 on RTGS$1 500 bail.

Clr Dlamini was asked to surrender his passport, report once a week at Victoria Falls Police Station and reside at his given residential address. 

For the State, Mr Onias Nyathi said Clr Dlamini acquired a residential stand for US$7 962 in Aerodrome area when he was first elected as a councilllor in 2013.

He then allegedly sold the stand to one Memory Sithole for US$20 000 in September 2017 without first paying for it at Victoria Falls Town Council.

Mr Nyathi said if council had sold the stand to someone on its housing waiting list, it could have sold it at US$19 905.

“In 2013 Clr Dlamini was elected as the Councillor for Ward 9 and was entitled to the benefits of being allocated two stands, residential and commercial. For the residential stand he was supposed to pay 40 percent of the actual price, the purchasing price of the stand was US$7 962. On 20 September 2017, Clr Dlamini corruptly sold the residential stand to Memory Sithole for a purchase price of US$20 000. 

During the time of the sale, the accused had not yet paid any money for the stand to Victoria Falls town council. 

Mrs Sithole made a direct payment for the stand to Victoria Falls Council upon purchasing the stand from Clr Dlamini,” said Mr Nyathi.

He said from the sale, Clr Dlamini realised a monetary gain of US$12 000.

Mr Nyathi said investigations established that at the time Clr Dlamini sold the stand to Mrs Sithole, there was no development and the accused had corruptly acquired a title deed which was used by the buyer to obtain a loan from CABS.-@nomvelosiziba.