Deputy head steals donated building material

Whinsley Masara Chronicle Reporter
A TSHOLOTSHO deputy headmaster has been arrested for stealing building material donated by a non-governmental organisation, Plan International. Jemuel Moyo of Malanda Secondary School is alleged to have stolen about 200 bags of cement when he was the acting headmaster for about two weeks during the just-ended school holidays.

Tsholotsho District education officer Kelvin Mathe confirmed receiving a report on the alleged theft of the donated material. He said about 15 bags of cement were recovered at Moyo’s homestead, a few kilometres from the school. A total of 30 bags that were allegedly sold to villagers at $10 each, were also recovered.

“I received a report on the arrest of Moyo although I can’t say much at the moment as investigations are still underway. Plan International is a non-governmental organisation that has so far built three classroom blocks and one teacher’s cottage at that school. Actually the intended plan is to build three classroom blocks and five teachers’ cottages at the school,” said Mathe.

Plan International Programme Unit manager Noreen Dube said the matter had been brought to the organisation’s attention. “The issue has been brought to our attention but we can’t say much as yet since the matter is in the hands of the police who are still carrying out investigations. As an organisation, we’re still committed to fulfilling one of the children’s rights which is the right to education and so we’ll stick to that,” she said.

Matabeleland North Acting police spokesperson Sergeant Eglon Nkala could not be reached for comment. The school’s headmistress Sibonginkosi Nkomo said Moyo was on duty for only two weeks during the school holidays and is suspected to have stolen the cement during that period.

“There are actually two teams of builders and this was discovered by one team that was suspecting the other. On discovering that the thief wasn’t among the builders, the teams filed a report on opening day and I reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of Moyo,” Nkomo said.