Approximately 300 Zimbabwean investors who participated in income-generating projects organized by the Zimbabwean Migration Network Programme (ZMNP) in South Africa claim they were victims of an R3 million fraudulent scheme.
ZMNP, a for-profit corporation registered in South Africa led by Luke Dzviti, is involved in a variety of projects, including chicken farming, a KFC franchise, and e-commerce. However, the corporation is under fire for allegedly failing to meet investor promises.
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According to reports, Dzviti is currently in Zimbabwe after facing rising pressure in South Africa. An unhappy investor filed a formal report with the Sandton Police Station (Case Reference: 286/2/2024, filed on February 11).
Concerns were raised among investors when Dzviti failed to meet overdue payment obligations. Allegedly, Dzviti has muted his WhatsApp groups and is rumoured to have left South Africa for Zimbabwe. This heightens concerns among investors.
Another investor disclosed that Dzviti claimed to be in Zimbabwe on February 5th but asserted he was in Zambia, America, or Canada when questioned.
“The project involves around 1,000 investors in total, with contacts being established through WhatsApp forms,” an investor shared.
An 18-member committee from the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation has been established to investigate and address the issue. The committee plans to pursue legal action, hiring lawyers to take the case to court on charges of money laundering and theft.
“After noticing that former chairman Luke Mufaro Dzviti failed to make any payment to those who invested 12 months ago, the disgruntled members have elected a new interim committee dedicated to recovering investments and lost properties due to Dzviti’s alleged untrustworthiness,”
The newly elected committee is actively collaborating with all members, collecting and compiling case numbers from those who invested. The group’s legal advisor is in the process of hiring lawyers to proceed with charges against Dzviti.
According to H-metro, Dzviti stated that he is currently on holiday, a routine at this time of the year. He assured that he will resume work next week and has been communicating with people through his South African number, which is on roaming.
Dzviti clarified that the organization has its own finance team, and funds are managed by a Johannesburg-based financial firm. He emphasized that he is solely the chairman and that many investments are still in the maturation stages.
In response to allegations, Dzviti accused the individual reporting the issue of conducting a witch-hunt to tarnish his reputation. He insisted that he merely experienced delays and did not engage in any fraudulent activities against the investors, asserting that the police cannot arrest him on such grounds.
