HARARE – In the quiet suburbs of Aspindale Park, a long-standing marriage has reached a devastating conclusion, not through the slow erosion of time, but through the calculated intervention of a man described by many as a serial predator. Matthew Five, a 31-year-old nurse aid graduate, stands at the centre of a burgeoning scandal that has seen him accused of masquerading as an elite medical professional to dismantle families and defraud vulnerable women of thousands of dollars.
The collapse of one particular marriage has become the focal point of the outcry. A husband, left shattered by the departure of his wife and three children, has come forward to blame Five directly for the ruin of his domestic life. The challenges reportedly began when the wife joined an organisation founded by Five—a group that has since been exposed as a front for his fraudulent activities. Today, in a bitter twist of fate, Five is living in Aspindale Park with the man’s ex-wife and his three children. The eldest of these children, aged 26, is remarkably only five years younger than the man now occupying the role of their stepfather.
This case is not an isolated incident but the latest chapter in the life of a man who has allegedly turned deception into a professional craft. Operating under the alias “Desmond Phiri,” Five has been accused of weaving elaborate webs of lies to ensnare his victims, often targeting them through Tinder, the world’s most popular dating application.
A Web of Fabricated Credentials
The depth of Five’s deception is staggering. To some, he was a medical doctor who had studied at the University of South Africa and the University of Malawi. To others, he was a high-flying clinical director based in Kenya, recently headhunted by Coca-Cola for a prestigious role at their global headquarters in Atlanta, United States.
In reality, Five is a nurse aid graduate whose most significant “medical” achievement appears to be a fake Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Between 2020 and 2021, at the height of the global pandemic, he reportedly recruited healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and lab scientists, claiming to be working in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Coca-Cola.
Shamiso Nzombe, one of the professionals recruited into the scheme, recalled the moment the facade began to crumble. “He did trainings lying that he is working with WHO and Coca-Cola for COVID-19 vaccinations,” she stated. “After a month we queried the delays in the programme, we decided to email WHO and Coca-Cola. We were told that Coca-Cola and WHO did not know him or his organisation. We reported him to the police, after a few days the web of the organisation vanished and he also ran away.”
During this period, Five allegedly defrauded his own girlfriend’s brother of US$11,000, claiming the funds were necessary for the vaccination campaign. It was a pattern that would define his operations: using the trust of those closest to him to facilitate his next big score.
The “Tinder Swindler” of Harare
Five’s tactics often mirrored those of international romance scammers, earning him the moniker of “Zimbabwe’s Tinder Swindler.” He frequently used American mobile numbers and pretended to be based in the United States, sending live locations and photographs to convince women of his affluent lifestyle abroad.
One victim, a disabled woman who lost over US$1,000 to Five, narrated a heartbreaking ordeal of manipulation. “We met on Tinder, then in person when he said he was relocating to America and would often send pictures, live locations in the US, and he also said he had a farm,” she said.
The romance quickly turned into a series of financial demands. “He started saying he was having problems which needed money, and at one time asked for money, saying his daughter was admitted to a hospital after a stroke. He introduced me to a so-called cousin; they would ask for money, telling me they had no groceries and so forth. He told me he was divorced and wants to marry me in February and would ask for my ID, saying he wants to book a court marriage date. I lost over a thousand dollars until he just went quiet.”
The promises of marriage were a recurring theme. On 27 November 2024, Five sent a text message to one of the women that read like a script from a romance novel:
“I want to marry you because you’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of and so much more, my safe haven, my greatest adventure and my best friend. With you, every moment feels like home and I see a future filled with love, laughter and endless growth together. You’re the one I want to wake up next to, dream with and build a beautiful life alongside. I love you because you light my world in ways no one else can. Your kindness, strength and beauty inspires me every single day and, with you, I’ve found my forever. You complete me in every way and I can’t wait to spend a lifetime proving how much you mean to me. I love you.”
For many, these words were followed not by a wedding, but by financial ruin. Another woman was told she would be given US$8,000 to spend at a luxury weekend retreat in Zanzibar. Like the marriage proposals, the trip never materialised.
A Trail of Failed Ceremonies
The impact of Five’s lies extended beyond individual heartbreak, often humiliating entire families. In one instance, a family gathered in anticipation of a lobola (bride price) ceremony, believing their daughter was marrying a successful medical doctor.
Pauline Butau, a witness to the family’s embarrassment, shared the story: “Matthew! Rimwe gore vanhu vakapfeka majava vachinzi mukuwasha doctor is coming, mukwasha didn’t come and we realised he is a scam. Can’t believe he is still at it.” (Matthew! One year people were dressed in their best clothes saying the son-in-law doctor is coming, the son-in-law didn’t come and we realised he is a scam.)
The ceremony was abruptly called off when the family realised the man they were waiting for was a fraud.
The Defence and the Fallout
When confronted with the mounting allegations, Matthew Five remained defiant. Speaking from an undisclosed location, he dismissed the claims as the work of a single disgruntled former girlfriend.
“I have made a payment plan to reimburse her money,” Five claimed. “Yes, I am married, and I am not in the country. Those women are telling lies. I asked them to remove those comments, it’s all lies. My lawyer will get back to you. Those uniforms were part of the nurse-aid programmes I was doing.”
His father, Mateyu Five, confirmed that his home in Kuwadzana 5 had become a destination for women seeking his son. “Yes, there is one who came here looking for my son and told me about these dating issues. I have no contact with my son because he reaches out when he wants to. I have nothing to say about this, the women must speak to my son, not me, my house is just the place where he was raised.”
A Growing Epidemic of Fraud
The case of Matthew Five highlights a disturbing trend in Zimbabwe and across the continent. In September 2025, Interpol reported the arrest of over 260 individuals in a major crackdown on African cybercrime, specifically targeting romance scams and sextortion. Zimbabweans have not been immune to these international networks; in August 2024, a Zimbabwean national, Sherlyn Sims (also known as Sherlyn Dzinzi), was found guilty in a United States court for laundering over US$1.2 million generated from romance fraud.
Legal experts in Zimbabwe warn that the “marriage promise” is a powerful tool used by con artists to exploit the social pressures placed on women. Advocate Arthur Marara noted that “a promise of marriage is considered a binding civil contract” in Zimbabwe, allowing victims to sue for damages. However, for many of Five’s victims, the financial loss is secondary to the emotional trauma and the destruction of their reputations.
As more victims come forward, the picture of Matthew Five shifts from that of a simple scammer to a specialist in psychological manipulation. Whether it is a fake Covid-19 campaign, a phantom job in Atlanta, or a promise to love someone “until Jesus returns,” the methods remain the same: find a vulnerability, build a fantasy, and then extract the value.
For the husband in Aspindale Park, the fantasy has become a living nightmare. His marriage, once a “long-term” foundation of his life, has been replaced by the presence of a man who built his world on lies. As the community grapples with the scale of the deception, the story of Matthew Five serves as a stark reminder of the dangers lurking behind a charming smile and a fabricated CV.
The investigation into Five’s activities continues, as more women share their stories of being “loved” until their bank accounts were empty. For now, the “Doctor” remains at large, leaving behind a trail of shattered homes and broken promises.
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