Three Tsholotsho Rural District (RDC) officials, implicated in a $37 000 fraud case emanating from the purchase of two vehicles meant for the Community Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire), have finally been given August 23 as their trial date.
The trio, Jericho Moyo, Martin Ndlovu and Sami Muleya, the RDC’s Campfire manager, finance officer and chief executive officer respectively, have not been formally charged with fraud and are set to appear before Bulawayo magistrate Gideon Ruvetsa facing charges of criminal abuse of office.
The trio has been appearing before Tsholotsho senior resident magistrate Toindepi Zhou before the matter was transferred to the provincial court in Bulawayo, because of the value involved.
They are out of custody on $600 bail each. Charges against them are that on January 19 last year, Moyo allegedly connived with Ndlovu and Muleya to swindle the local authority of cash when buying two cars, both of them Toyota Land Cruisers, for Campfire projects.
They allegedly sourced the vehicles without following the laid-down council procedures and allegedly inflated purchase prices in the process. The court heard that they allegedly presented that the vehicles were valued at $26 000 and $30 000 respectively.
However, the State argues that the actual purchase prices of the vehicles were $8 000 and $11 000. Through the misrepresentation, the trio allegedly pocketed $37 000.
However, when the matter later came to light, Moyo was arrested and went on to implicate Ndlovu and Muleya.
Jerry Mutsindikwa is the prosecutor in the case.
