By A Correspondent| JEFFM Auctions company director Jeffery Mubaiwa yesterday appeared in court on allegations of defrauding Netone Private Limited of US$133k in a botched property deal.

Mubaiwa (47) was facing theft of trust property charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Apollonia Marutya.
He was granted US$100 bail and advised to report to police once every fortnight.

The complainant is NetOne (Pvt) Ltd Zimbabwe represented by _Rapheai Mushanawani .
It is the State’s case that that sometime in September 2022, NetOne (Pvt) Ltd Zimbabwe flighted an advert inviting quotations from bidders which were registered with the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).

The court heard that the bid was for the purpose of disposing its obsolete equipment, furniture and vehicles.

In January 2024, Mubaiwa was awarded the contract by NetOne to dispose its obsolete equipment, furniture and vehicles in terms of the Public and Disposal of Public Asset (PPDPA).

According to court documents the items for the auction were entrusted to Mubaiwa dispose and remit the proceeds to the contractor.

According to the contract, the auctioneer was to remit funds to the client, NetOne (Pvt) Ltd within a period of 48hours after the auction.

On July 13 , this year the auction was conducted and bidding for all items was done using United States Dollars as per the announcement by the NetOne various departments who took record of the proceedings.

A total of US$ 113 450 was realised from the sale of motor vehicles and US$58 754 from other items making a total of US$172 204 .

It is alleged that all the money remained with Mubaiwa since he was entrusted with the responsibility of disposing the items.

After lapsing of 48 hours remittance period as per the agreement,
NetOne contacted Mubaiwa to enquire on why he had not yet remitted the funds .

On July 23, 2024, Mubaiwa deposited US$39 000 as part of the proceeds from the auction and he converted US$ 133 204 to personal use.