Story by Parvel Makona
A FORMER company secretary has appeared in court on fraud charges after allegedly taking control of a bus service company and collecting rentals from its properties amounting to US$300 000 without authorisation.
Tsamwisai Richards Chitombo (54) is accused of unlawfully taking control of Mazarura Bus Service and Stores (Pvt) Ltd and collecting rental income from the company’s properties without the consent of its directors.
Court documents show that Mazarura Bus Service and Stores was registered in 1986 under the Companies Act, with Killian Mazarura, Shingirai Mazarura and Chris John Mazarura as directors, while Faith Zenga served as company secretary.
Chitombo was appointed company secretary on April 1, 2003, following Zenga’s resignation.
The company owns more than 100 buses and several properties, including Mazarura Garage stands in Mutoko, shops and trucks, with assets in Murehwa, Suswe, Kotwa, Nyamapanda, Makaha and Mutoko.
The State alleges that in February 2018, shortly after the death of major shareholder Killian Mazarura, Chitombo fraudulently appointed Trevor Mazarura and Charles Mazarura as directors without following the required procedures and issued them shares.
It is alleged that Trevor and Charles Mazarura subsequently assumed control of the company without the complainant’s knowledge and collected rentals from company properties between 2018 and the present.
According to the State, Chris John Mazarura only discovered the alleged fraud in November 2025 after returning from South Africa, when he found that he had been removed as a director and had not been allocated shares.
The State alleges that the complainant suffered an actual prejudice of US$300 000, with nothing recovered.
