Bulawayo woman steals ZWG136 442 from OneMoney

A 32-year-old Bulawayo woman has been sentenced to perform 211 hours of community service after being found guilty of exploiting a technical glitch in NetOne’s OneMoney system to steal ZWG136 442 in May this year.

Clara Ncube appeared in court before Bulawayo magistrate, Mrs Dambudzo Malunga, last week facing charges of theft in relation to the incident.

According to State prosecutor, Ms Nomthandazo Mafu, the offense took place between 10 and 13 May this year when NetOne’s system was experiencing technical glitches.

“Ncube took advantage of a system error that allowed mobile money to be transferred without corresponding deductions, executing multiple transactions below the limit of ZWG2 400 each to avoid detection,” said Miss Mafu.

Upon detecting the fraudulent transactions, NetOne contacted Ncube, who had already spent ZWG24 000 of the stolen funds.

Investigations were conducted leading to her arrest, where ZWG 112 042 was successfully recovered.

In the verdict delivered by Mrs Malunga, Ncube was initially sentenced to 18 months in prison, with six months suspended provided she does not commit a similar offense.

Another six months were also suspended on condition of Ncube paying ZWG 24 400 as restitution to NetOne.

Ncube’s remaining sentence was further suspended on the condition that she completes 211 hours of community service. She will perform her sentence at Drill Hall in Bulawayo.

Ms Mafu emphasised the seriousness of Ncube’s actions and the need for accountability in such cases.

Mrs Malunga reiterated the importance of adhering to legal and ethical standards in financial transactions to maintain trust and integrity in the banking sector.