LUPANE — A Zimpost branch manager for Lupane, Ronald Dube, who was recently convicted of stealing $5 000 from his employer, heaved a sigh of relief last Friday after he was slapped with a wholly suspended two-year jail term, on condition he pays restitution.
Dube (51),who pleaded guilty to theft when he appeared before magistrate Takudzwa Gwazemba early this month, was ordered to pay $5 012 restitution to Zimpost this month-end. The court heard on April 24 this year, Zimpost internal auditors conducted a spot check at the Lupane branch. The auditors unearthed a number of anomalies in the branch’s accounts. They established that the branch could not account for $5 012 of the $10 082 which was supposed to be in its cash vaults.
This led to Dube’s arrest.
Zimpost’s internal auditor Ngonidzashe Mutapi told the court it could not be ascertained whether or not Dube had personally stolen the money.
“I cannot say he stole the money, but what we discovered during the audit was that the money was missing. It is not clear if he stole it or there was negligence in handling of the funds, but the fact is the money could not be accounted for,” said Mutapi in court.
In mitigation, Dube told the court that he had since lost his job following the conviction, adding that was his first criminal conviction after serving the company for 29 years.
