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Lupane case fails to take off

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Police in Lupane on Tuesday failed to provide evidence in a fraud case involving Matabeleland North Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and Kusile Rural District Council (RDC) employees accused of defrauding the local authority of about $2 000. SRC sports co-ordinator for Matabeleland North, Permanent Sibanda (41), a revenue clerk at Kusile RDC, Mandla Moyo […]

Police in Lupane on Tuesday failed to provide evidence in a fraud case involving Matabeleland North Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and Kusile Rural District Council (RDC) employees accused of defrauding the local authority of about $2 000.

SRC sports co-ordinator for Matabeleland North, Permanent Sibanda (41), a revenue clerk at Kusile RDC, Mandla Moyo (43), a former council employee, Mpendulo Manga and Jabulani Sibanda (41) a bookkeeper with the local authority, have not been formally charged with fraud involving $1 920 since they started appearing before Lupane magistrate Takudzwa Gwazemba in July last year.

Their trial was supposed to open on Tuesday, but the magistrate further remanded the case to March 20 after police failed to bring evidence to court.

Police told the court the custodian of keys to the exhibit room was not there hence they failed to bring any evidence.

The four are out of custody on free bail. The court heard the SRC was renting offices at the Kusile RDC buildings.

Sometime between June 2010 and July this year, Sibanda and Moyo allegedly connived to defraud their employer of $1 920 for rentals.

Moyo is alleged to have given Permanent 10 blank Kusile RDC receipts which Jabulani would reportedly complete purporting that he had paid rentals to the council for the period in question.

It is alleged Sibanda would go to the bank and withdraw the money from the SRC account on the pretext he was going to use it to pay the rentals, but would allegedly convert the money to his own use.

The alleged fraud was discovered by some council officials who visited the SRC offices to ask them why they were not paying their rentals.

An SRC official who was at the offices produced the allegedly fraudulent receipts.

RDC officials concluded the receipts which went missing at the RDC offices were the ones produced as proof of payment by the official.

This led to the arrest of Permanent and Moyo. All the allegedly fraudulent receipts were recovered.

Permanent and Moyo in July implicated Manga and Jabulani, leading to their arrest.