A 46-year-old farmer in Zimbabwe appeared before a Harare magistrate on fraud charges after allegedly misrepresenting the status of his tobacco crop to secure inputs worth $51,020 from Horizon Leaf Tobacco. Prosecutors say Oosthuizen Jennie Lourence sought a contract farming agreement in November 2025 after company representatives inspected what appeared to be a healthy crop at his farm in Trelawney, Banket. The contract was signed, with the farmer receiving agricultural inputs instead of cash.
The State alleges Lourence failed to disclose that the same crop had already been pledged to another financier. When the marketing season opened in February, he did not deliver the tobacco, later claiming through lawyers that his farm and crop had been taken over by a creditor, leaving Horizon with the reported loss. Lourence was granted bail and is set to return to court on May 4.