Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
Two Harare men who defrauded Dynamos Football Club chairman Vincent Chawonza and his company of more than US$6 000 have each been sentenced to one year in jail.
Kenneth Nyalugwe and Kennedy Chiwara were convicted of theft of trust property and concealing a transaction.
The pair appeared before Harare magistrate, Mr Artwell Sanyatwe.
On the first count, they were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, with one year suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, leaving an effective jail term of one year.
On the second count, the duo was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. One year was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, while another year was suspended on condition they restitute the complainant. The remaining one year will run concurrently with the first sentence.
The court heard that Nyalugwe was employed as an administrator at Open Gold Enterprises, while Chiwara was the company’s workshop manager.
The two allegedly started their own business using the company’s resources and targeting its clients, resulting in losses exceeding US$6 000.
Prosecutors told the court that on July 10, 2025, Nyalugwe prepared an Open Gold Enterprises quotation valued at US$6 468,75 for Superlinx Logistics for the supply of door cappings.
Four days later, Nyalugwe allegedly prepared a US$5 000 quotation under Fosterwell Investments. The quotation was also directed to Superlinx Logistics.
After discovering that his company’s products were being quoted under another business name, Chawonza became suspicious. He instructed Nyalugwe to surrender his company laptop for inspection.
An IT expert who examined the laptop reportedly discovered a folder containing seven quotations prepared under Fosterwell Investments.
After being questioned, Nyalugwe and Chiwara reportedly stopped coming to work. Chiwara allegedly also stopped taking calls and refused to surrender storeroom keys.
A subsequent stocktaking exercise revealed that 100 door cappings, each measuring five metres, were missing from the storeroom.
Investigations further revealed that Nyalugwe had supplied similar products to Superlinx Logistics under Fosterwell Investments.
As a result of the duo’s actions, the company suffered an actual prejudice of US$6 468,75 through stolen property and lost business opportunities.
