ANOTHER top council official allegedly involved in the stands allocation scam yesterday appeared in court to answer to charges of criminal abuse of office.

Edgar Dzehonye, a senior officer in the housing department, was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Trynos Hutawashe. He was remanded in custody to August 17.

His co-accused director housing and community services Addmore Nhekairo, his predecessor and now director human and capital resources Matthew Marara were on Monday denied bail.

The court refused them bail citing significant risks that Marara and co-accused Aaron Tayerera would abscond and that Nhekairo would likely interfere with a crucial prosecution witness.

Dzehonye and Nhekairo are facing a charge of criminal abuse of office while Marara (49) is facing a fraud charge along with Tayerera (48), who is the acting chief clerical officer.

Marara and Tayerera are charged with fraudulently selling council land in Strathaven for US$20 900 to an unsuspecting land seeker and pocketing the money.

Marara already has a pending case before the same court, with other co-accused, involving the illegal creation and sale of 150 stands in Kuwadzana, with irregularities in the approval of plans and production of fraudulent layout plans prejudicing council of US$1 141 779.

Nhekairo allegedly and allocated residential stands in Westlea to undeserving people who include police officers and a prosecutor, who have since been arrested and charged.

In denying Marara and Tayerera bail, Harare magistrate Ms Bianca Makwande ruled that they were likely to abscond if granted bail considering that there are series of other cases being investigated involving stands in the same area.

In Nhekairo’s case, Ms Makwande strongly felt he was likely to interfere with State witnesses especially the key witness with whom he shares an office.

It is the State’s case that between 2018 and 2019, Marara and Tayerera hatched a plan to defraud Harare City of its land and they identified an open space in Strathaven.

They then demarcated the said piece of land and gave it a fictitious stand number and sold it to an unsuspecting land seeker Aaron Gomo through a real estate agent named Seeff Zimbabwe, allegedly for US$20 900, the court heard.

To cover up for the offence, the pair, it is alleged, created an offer letter and agreement of sale backdated to 2017, which they signed and handed to Gomo.