Forgery backfires for Kadoma girl

Level, an 18-year-old Kadoma girl forged her Ordinary Level results.
Unfortunately for Dianah Shayano-wako, her schoolmates knew that she had not passed and blew her cover.
Shayanowako has since been sentenced to a wholly suspended nine-month jail term.
She had only passed O Level Shona with a C and had failed Mathematics (U) and Biology (D).
Shayanowako did not sit for the Geography and Accounts papers last year although she had registered these subjects.
The girl then went to Sam Levy Village in Kadoma and forged a result slip for US$20.
Her new results slip indicated she had passed four subjects: Geography (B), Shona (A), Mathematics (B), Biology (A) and Principles of Accounts (B).
She proceeded to register for Mathematics, Accounts and Management of Business at Chemukute High School.
It is not clear if her parents/guardians knew about the cooked-up slip but they signed a declaration form on February 24 paving the way for her enrolment.
However, her cover was blown a few days into the term when some of the pupils she had learnt with at O Level alerted a teacher that she had failed.
Further scrutiny showed that her results slip was different from the ones issued by Zimsec.
Zimsec uses Dot-Matrix printing, which is different from the laser jet that was used on the fake slip.
This prompted the exams body to investigate and after determining that the slip was fake, officials made a police report.
A Kadoma magistrate sentenced her to a wholly-suspended 90-day jail term on condition that she does not commit a similar offence or any crime involving fraud in the next five years.
Shayanowako’s arrest led to the arrest of four people said to be behind the fake results scam – Hussein Nenji (26), Valentine Miller (21), Simbarashe Mugabe (22), Pardon Mundiya (26).
They have been charged with fraud under Section 136 Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Nenji and Mugabe were sentenced to wholly-suspended three-month jail terms while Mundiya will perform 315 hours community service.
Miller was remanded in custody to March 21 for trial.
A Zimsec official in Mashonaland West said the sentences were lenient.
“Someone can go on to lead various institutions of integrity using the fake results. The sentences should be deterrent enough and send the right signal to would-be offenders.
“This has implications on the integrity of our education system.”