HARARE - Harare businessman Eddie Zviitwa aka Eddie Kebab, who is facing an $85 000 theft charge, has been freed on $300 bail.This is not the first that the Kebab Centre owner has had a brush with the law under more similar circumstances.
In 2013, he reportedly connived with the police to extort $20 000 from an Israeli man.
Kebab, who was represented by Belvin Bopoto, appeared at the Harare Magistrate’s Court yesterday after allegedly conniving to “rob in broad day-light” the complainant Taghlan Hovsep, who was then accused of trying to sell drugs.
His co-accused Keagan Paul Blumears appeared before the same court on Thursday, at a time Kebab was said to be on the run.
However, his lawyer told Harare magistrate Elijah Makomo that Kebab was not on the run, adding that he complied after being called in by the police.
Makomo asked Bopoto about Kebab’s involvement in the whole issue.
Bopoto said Kebab went to the crime scene after being called by Blumears, adding that he never took part in what was happening but was simply a witness.
Makomo later released Kebab on a similar amount of $300 that Blumears also paid as bail on Thursday.
According to court papers, Hovsep, who is a Lebanese national, had been lured to a Mount Pleasant house on the promise of buying a Hyundai excavator.
Prosecutor Sabastian Mutizirwa alleged that on March 29 this year, Hovsep went to Blumears with a bagful of cash, with a view of buying the heavy-duty machine, which was coming from a friend’s mine.
Hovsep was driving a Toyota Wish and on arrival, he was told that the person delivering the excavator would arrive in 40 minutes and he waited.
Upon leaving the house after about three hours, Hovsep was set upon by about three unidentified men who were driving a gold-coloured E-Class Mercedes Benz and purporting to be policemen on a drug bust.
One of the bogus cops, it was heard, produced an identity card with a Zimbabwean flag on the corner and claimed that he was a CID detective.
Hovsep, it was claimed, was wanted by Interpol and after which he was allegedly handcuffed, and ordered to remain silent, while they searched his car and took the cash.
In that episode, the gang also tried to plant a certain amount of capsules in the foreign national’s bag.
Within five minutes, the court heard, Kebab arrived at the scene and said he was going to “sort things out”.
After claiming that he would mediate, the Harare businessman also claimed he would ensure Hovsep would not be deported after liaising with the purported detectives.
Kebab allegedly left with the bogus cops after the group had allegedly taken Hovsep’s $85 000, an Iphone, a Samsung C4 and wallet, and promised that he would talk to the CID boss, and negotiate for a return with the bag containing the cash.
The court heard that Kebab later returned with an empty bag and two cellphones alleging that the money had been taken by the police boss at a house in Mount Pleasant.
As a result, Hovsep was prejudiced of $85 000 and nothing has been recovered to date.
Meanwhile, Blumears and Kebab will be back in court on May 3.