A general hand-cum-accounts clerk at the Veterinary Field Services office in Nyamandlovu has been slapped with an effective 30-month jail term for stealing R22 000 left under her custody by her employer.
Afu Chinyemba (31),who was employed by the Ministry of Agriculture to run the accounts office at the Veterinary Services Department in Nyamandlovu, was convicted of fraud by Bulawayo magistrate, Gideon Ruvetsa, on Tuesday.
She was sentenced to 36 months in prison, but had six months of her sentence conditionally suspended for five years.
The court heard that besides being a general hand, Chinyemba doubled up as an accounts clerk in charge of receiving and balancing the entire ministry’s books as well as banking cash received from farmers.
Between April 22 and October 30 2009, she received R22 000 which she was supposed to deposit into the ministry’s bank account.
However, she converted the money to her own use. To cover up for the offence, she altered the figures in the receipt book.
The offence only came to light during an internal audit check, leading to her arrest.
Jerry Mutsindikwa appeared for the State.
