THE State yesterday withdrew fraud charges before plea against incarcerated comedienne Felistas Murata, popularly known as Mai TT, after establishing that she had paid back the complainant’s money amounting to US$10 000.
The matter was withdrawn before Harare magistrate Ms Appollonia Marutya.
It was the State’s case that sometime in September 2022, at corner Second Street and Speke Avenue in Harare, Murata unlawfully and intentionally misrepresented to the complainant Rachel Mhuka that she was in need of US$10 000 for her business venture and would give Mhuka her Mercedes Benz vehicle, registration number AFF9759, as surety for the loan which she undertook to pay back by November 30 last year.
She allegedly did this well knowing that the vehicle did not belong to her.
Acting on the misrepresentation, Mhuka gave Murata the money.
Murata later claimed back the Mercedes Benz saying it did not belong to her and issued her another vehicle, an Audi Q5 with registration AFG3701, which she again retrieved and replaced with an invalid passport as surety.
When Mhuka realised that the passport was invalid, she confronted Murata who immediately returned the second vehicle.
The State alleged that sometime in January this year, police from Rhodesville approached Mhuka and seized the car saying it had been stolen from Else Event Car Hire.
This was after the company represented by Liberty Vazhura reported Murata for theft of trust property.
Murata is currently serving nine months in jail after she was convicted of theft of trust property in June
