Tinaye Agere
THE jokes keep writing themselves.
Well, William Gonese — a shift manager at one of Simbisa Holdings’ Bakers Inn outlets in Harare — is now toast (pun intended) after he literally gambled with his job and lost.
He seemed to have styled himself as a maestro in a high-stakes gambling game.
After deciding that running a bakery wasn’t enough excitement for him, Gonese (28) chose to knead his employer’s trust into a half-baked scheme to fund his online gambling addiction.
Entrusted with a float of US$3 420 to serve customers overnight at the Chinhoyi Street branch in Harare, he thought it wise to divert the dough to Aviator — a notorious online betting game affectionately known as “Kandege” in street lingo.
Why, you ask?
To impress his new wife, of course!
Because nothing says “I love you” like embezzling your employer’s money to gamble it away.
As the clock struck 3.08am, fate struck after Gonese discovered he could not recover and reimburse the money he had gambled away.
He duly confessed to Simbisa’s audit manager Yusufu Bruce that he squandered US$470 in cash and US$2 950 in InnBucks deposits.
In short, our mampara managed to blow the entire US$3 420 float.
An emergency reconciliation confirmed the sorry tale, leaving Bruce with no choice but to alert the authorities.
This is how Gonese traded his baker’s whites for a pair of jailhouse garbs.
Appearing before Harare magistrate Lynne Chinzou, Gonese pleaded guilty, admitting that his plan was to win big, repay the stolen funds and still have enough leftovers to dazzle his bride.
Alas, the only jackpot he hit was the one marked “prison time”.
Magistrate Chinzou, unimpressed by Gonese’s version of the Romeo & Juliet story, handed down a 30-month jail sentence.
However, 12 months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.
Another eight months were suspended provided Gonese repays the stolen funds.
This leaves Gonese with a solid 10 months to reflect on his wretched choices.
Online Reporter