Online Reporter
Mkhululi Ncube, Zimpapers Reporter
THREE former board members of Dabula Community Co-operative Limited in Kenmaur, Lupane District, Matabeleland North Province, stand accused of embezzling nearly US$400 000 in co-operative funds during their tenure.
The alleged misappropriation of rental income and other fees has plunged the co-operative into significant debt, including an outstanding US$17 000 owed to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa).
These findings are contained in a 70-page independent audit report obtained by the Chronicle, commissioned after members demanded a full financial review.
The audit was conducted following the election of a new board, with some re-elected members from the previous executive (2019–2024) implicated.
Dabula Co-operative Private Limited was established in 1981 when community members pooled resources to purchase a 55 432-hectare farm, now home to the Kenmaur Business Centre along the busy Bulawayo–Victoria Falls Road. However, years of poor governance have crippled the co-operative, leaving members without dividends and threatening the sustainability of the venture.
Mr Silas Moyo, who served as secretary in the previous board and was re-elected as vice-secretary in the current one, is named in the audit report alongside Perseverance Tshuma and Mthenjwa Gumbo, who allegedly forced their way onto the board despite a High Court ruling against their membership in a separate case.
“The total computed rental inflows for the period January 2019 to October 2025 amount to US$391 386.
Applying a standard bad debt allowance of five percent (US$19 569,30) leaves an adjusted collectable revenue of approximately US$371 816,70, which remains wholly unaccounted for in Dabula’s records.
“Mr Silas Moyo needs to account for the US$391 386, which was allegedly collected by himself and/or others (his friends as per interviews) without authorisation,” reads part of the report.
The audit recommends that criminal proceedings be instituted against Mr Moyo and his associates in an effort to recover the missing funds.
Co-operative members have since voted to suspend the implicated individuals pending further investigations. The trio, which is resisting the move, is also accused of illegally selling stands at the co-operative.
“Upon commencement of the audit, it became apparent that critical accounting and governance records were either not maintained, deliberately withheld, or destroyed — actions allegedly perpetrated by members of the then, and in some cases still-serving, Board of Directors,” reads the report.
The accused are said to have destroyed records to conceal suspected fraud.
“Notably, key financial statements, particularly those relating to expenditures and rental collections, were missing or incomplete,” the report states.
Auditors said they were forced to adopt “a triangulated approach, relying on interviews, third-party confirmations, and forensic reconstruction techniques to determine what occurred, how it occurred, and who was responsible.”
According to the report, the reconstruction revealed several key findings, including the unauthorised collection of co-operative funds by Mr Moyo, Ms Tshuma and Mr Gumbo, who allegedly received rental payments using co-operative receipts without board approval or proper accountability mechanisms.
Some receipts, it noted, did not have the co-operative letterhead, while others bore entirely different company names.
“Destruction or concealment of records: several financial and governance documents were untraceable, suggesting deliberate tampering or destruction of evidence to conceal prior misconduct,” the auditors found.
The report also cites a complete breakdown in governance, with no proper separation of duties within the previous board. It accuses the former board of failing to run the co-operative’s affairs responsibly, creating an environment in which illegal activities thrived.
“Former members of the Board of Directors appeared unconcerned by the absence of accounting records, control systems and governance documentation. Witness testimonies consistently confirmed a pattern of wilful neglect and unwillingness by the board to maintain proper books of account or to implement basic financial governance protocols,” the report says.
It adds that this passive complicity created a culture of impunity that severely undermined the co-operative’s integrity and accountability framework.
The co-operative is also reported to have lost several assets, including a Mazda pick-up truck, underground fuel tanks and various materials and books.
“The audit established that co-operative assets are untraceable. No asset register, movement schedule, or disposal authorisation records were made available for examination. The audit could not establish any formal authorisation, documentation, or accountability concerning the movement, sale, or transfer of these assets,” the report adds.
Contacted for comment, the co-operative’s chairperson, Mr Richard Khumalo, confirmed the developments.
“Members demanded that an audit be carried out, and the matter is now being handled by the police. We are also working to recover assets that were stolen,” he said, without elaborating. — @themkhust
