16 Home Seekers Lose US$419k in Land Scam

Munyaradzi Mashiri- Court Correspondent

Two suspected land barons, Lillian Chitanga ,59, and Spencer Mabeka ,46, are accused of duping 16 home seekers out of US$419 500 in a bogus residential stands deal.

The pair were arrested after residents who had bought land in Ridgeview, Belvedere, Harare discovered that the property actually belonged to the City of Harare.

Chitanga, who was the director of Brickstone Builders and Contractors (Pvt) Ltd, allegedly moved onto Stand 19156 Salisbury Township Lands in April 2022. The land, registered under Deed Grant No. 10907, had been set aside for council use but was illegally subdivided into stands.

She partnered with a local developer to put in roads and market the stands under the Brickstone name. Between April 2022 and November 2024, four stands were sold through the developer and another 12 directly by Chitanga.

Buyers signed agreements of sale and started building houses.

But in 2023, Harare City Council demolished the structures, saying the buyers were occupying council land illegally. Victims lost a combined US$345 500, which they could not recover.

Investigators say Mabeka later joined Chitanga in the same scheme, selling three more stands. Both of them signed documents as sellers, even though the land was not theirs to sell.

Those buyers also built houses that were later torn down by council, losing US$74 000.

Altogether, the 16 victims lost US$419 500 to the suspected scam.

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