HARARE – Former deputy minister Brighton Matonga appeared in court on Tuesday charged over an alleged US$10,000 swindle.
Matonga, 51, and his co-accused Onesmo Ndoro, 47, are accused of defrauding a Zimbabwean man based in South Africa in a botched deal for the supply of demonetised trillion-dollar bills.
Kelvin Chipeta, said prosecutors, contacted Matonga seeking to obtain 3,000 individual trillion-dollar notes printed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe during the hyper inflation years of 2007 and 2008.
Matonga, a former deputy information minister, referred Chipeta to Ndoro after telling him that the latter was licenced to deal in the old notes which are finding buyers worldwide.
Sebastian Mutizirwa, prosecuting, said Chipeta flew into Harare with his business partner and they were received by Matonga and Ndoro at the airport.
The four men proceeded to a restaurant at Alexandra Park where the deal was set to be concluded.
Ndoro, magistrate Barbara Mateko heard, was handed the money which he counted before excusing himself from the meeting to go and fetch the trillion-dollar bills. He never returned, say prosecutors, despite Matonga’s repeated assurances to his guests that he would.
Matonga and Ndoro were freed on $300 bail each.
Matonga’s lawyers indicated their client will be pleading not guilty, insisting he never received money from Chipeta.
