Online Reporter
Fairness Moyana in Hwange
A 25-YEAR-OLD clerk at Detema Secondary School in Dete, Hwange District, has been sentenced to an effective two years in prison for stealing more than US$2 200 in school fees.
Chiedza Chidaya was convicted of theft of trust property and fraud by Hwange provincial magistrate Ms Rumbidzai Kabasa. The two counts were treated as one for sentencing purposes.
She was initially sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. One year was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, while another year was suspended on condition she restitutes the school US$2,207 by December 5.
Prosecuting, Ms Chido Tshuma told the court that between May 13 and November 21 last year, Chidaya received US$322 in school fees from learners. Instead of using the current receipt book and banking the money, she issued receipts from an old 2018 book that had been discontinued due to faults. She failed to deposit the funds and converted them to her own use. The offence came to light after internal auditors conducted an audit covering January 2024 to July 2025. The audit exposed that Chidaya had been receipting payments in the outdated book and had not surrendered or accounted for the money.
Further investigations uncovered a more elaborate scheme. Between November last year and August this year, Chidaya allegedly manipulated carbon copies of receipts in which she recorded US$556 when she had actually collected US$2,441 from learners, prejudicing the school of US$1,885.
In total, the school lost US$2,207.
In mitigation, Chidaya pleaded for leniency, but the court found that she had abused a position of trust and carried out the offences deliberately over an extended period.
