A 35-year-old woman who last year marked her birthday with trips to Paris, Rome, Spain, and Germany appeared in court on Saturday, charged with swindling 79 people while advertising her car import business.
Prosecutors said Hazel Silibaziso Mafu convinced individuals intending to buy vehicles from Japan to deposit money into the account of her company, Hezy Motors Logistics. A staggering total of US$624,958.96 and ZiG$1,275,878.35 was paid to her between 2022 and 2026, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said. The NPA alleges that Mafu failed to deliver the vehicles as agreed and became evasive when those who had paid her began asking questions. Mafu was remanded in custody to Monday for her bail application.
This case is not merely a story of a business gone wrong; it is a glaring indictment of a fraudulent enterprise masquerading as a beacon of entrepreneurial success. For years, Hazel Mafu has cultivated an image of a dynamic, award-winning CEO, leveraging social media and influencer endorsements to build a facade of trust. Yet, as the sheer scale of the alleged fraud comes to light, one must question the legitimacy of the accolades she has collected and the institutions that bestowed them.
The Lavish Lifestyle of a Serial Fraudster
While 79 hard-working Zimbabweans are now left to grapple with the devastating financial loss of their life savings, Mafu’s social media accounts tell a very different story. During the very period she was allegedly defrauding her clients, her platforms showcased a life of luxury and globe-trotting adventures.
Her 34th birthday celebrations took her across several European capitals. During a stop at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, she wrote: “On top of the world, Eiffel Tower, Paris! Every moment feels cinematic.” In another post, she mused, “Even the strongest engine needs a fuel stop. Let’s normalise rest as part of success.”
The “fuel stop” for her European vacations was likely funded by the US$624,958.96 and ZiG$1,275,878.35 she allegedly took from trusting customers who believed in her promises of imported vehicles. The audacity to flaunt a lifestyle built on the financial ruin of others is a hallmark of the brazen fraudster.
A History of Deception and Evasion
The current charges are not Hazel Mafu’s first brush with the law. Long before she was celebrated as a visionary entrepreneur, she had already established a pattern of deceit.
In June 2023, Mafu and an associate, Emmanuel Nyagano, were arrested for a rebate scam. They were accused of forging civil servants’ rebate exemption letters to avoid paying import duty on vehicles. They used the names of government workers without their consent to import cars duty-free, costing the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes.
More alarmingly, reports indicate that Mafu was previously convicted on 39 counts of fraud by a Plumtree regional magistrate, who sentenced her to 14 years in prison. It is highly unusual and deeply concerning that an individual with such a substantial prior conviction record was able to rebuild her brand, attract investors, and continue operating a business that is now at the center of a massive fraud scandal.
Furthermore, Hezy Motors Logistics has been accused of utilizing fake social media accounts to post positive reviews while actively blocking real complainants and deleting negative feedback. This systematic manipulation of her online reputation suggests a highly calculated effort to deceive the public.
Questioning the “Awards”
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this saga is the roster of awards Mafu has accumulated, which she has used to legitimize her fraudulent enterprise. The awards circuit in Zimbabwe often celebrates charismatic personalities and aggressive social media presence without conducting rigorous due diligence into the actual business operations or ethical standing of the nominees.
Mafu has claimed the title of “Iconic Business Leader of the Year” at a 2023 business award, despite already being embroiled in legal issues and the initial stages of her import scams. More recently, in 2025, she was honored as “Female CEO of the Year” at the Women in Supply Chain Management Awards. She has also been nominated for the Emerging Brands in Africa Awards and the Zimbabwe Women in Business Forum and Awards.
These accolades do not merely reflect poor judgment by the awarding bodies; they represent a failure of due diligence. When an entrepreneur builds a company on forged documents, duty evasion, and the systematic swindling of clients, they are fundamentally disqualified from any claim to ethical leadership. The institutions that handed out these plaques need to seriously re-evaluate their vetting processes. An award for “excellence” or “leadership” bestowed upon a person actively defrauding the public is worse than meaningless—it is an endorsement of a criminal enterprise.
The Verdict
Hazel Silibaziso Mafu’s appearance in court is a necessary step toward justice for the 79 victims who lost their money. However, the wider business community and the public must learn from this debacle.
The “success” peddled on social media is often an illusion, carefully curated to mask fraudulent activities. As the legal process unfolds, it is imperative that the awarding bodies that celebrated Mafu as a role model take accountability for their oversight. Until there is a robust mechanism for vetting the integrity of award nominees, the trophies on Mafu’s shelf serve only as monuments to a culture that values optics over ethics.
Hazel Mafu was remanded in custody for her bail application. Nothing has been recovered so far.