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Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
Two survivors of the three-man gang that defrauded Delatfin Civil Engineering of US$3 million, through selling its stands, were yesterday given effective sentences of 18 years each.
Harare Regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje sentenced Jacob Muyambo and Saymods Mutakura to 20 years jail each before suspending two years on condition of good behaviour.
Their accomplice and third accused Amos Kagona shot and killed himself last week on the day judgment was due to be delivered.
Mr Mambanje ruled that all stands sold by the trio be returned to Delatfin who would assume ownership.
In passing sentence, the magistrate said the court had the duty to determine whether the offence was committed in aggravating circumstances and if there were any mitigating circumstances.
The only mitigating circumstances were that the two were first offenders and should be treated as such.
But being a first offender could not be abused as a tool to lower the sentences.
Turning to the rest of the evidence the magistrate noted: “The accused persons bit the hand that was feeding them. There was no doubt that they came up with a premeditated plan in committing the offence.
“The evidence by the State was credible and resulted in the accused persons being convicted,” he said.
Mr Mambanje said there was breach of trust in this case.
From August 2015 to March 2018, Muyambo, Kagona and Mutakura teamed up and defrauded Delatfin Civil Engineering, district public prosecutor Tafara Chirambira proved.
They sold commonage stands allocated to the then Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing by Delatfin.
After illegally selling the stands, they would prepare fake agreements of sale purporting that the stands in question would have been sold with Muyambo, in his capacity as the finance manager approving the sale.
They would then share the proceeds, while they were fully aware that these stands were to be disposed of at a later stage and that their employer would not notice at the time that the stands were being disposed of.
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