Court Correspondent

A FORMER corporate manager has been convicted of kidnapping and assaulting a former workmate in a bid to prevent him from exposing alleged fraudulent activities at their company.

Simbarashe Emmanuel Martin Rondozai has been convicted of kidnapping David Matanda, a former employee of a security company in May last year.

Harare magistrate Mr Tapiwa Kuhudzai found the State case compelling, ruling that there was overwhelming evidence linking Rondozai to the offence.

He was remanded in custody.

The court will tomorrow hear submissions in mitigation before sentencing.

Prosecutor Ms Monalisa Magwenzi told the court that Rondozai had a motive to kidnap Matanda because the complainant allegedly had information about fraudulent activities at the company.

She said the kidnapping was intended to intimidate Matanda and prevent him from disclosing information about the alleged fraud and misappropriation of company funds.

Ms Magwenzi further argued that forensic evidence extracted from Rondozai’s cellphone did not exonerate him from the offence.

During the trial, the State called Matanda’s 17-year-old brother and his wife, Catherine Satande, as witnesses.

The State’s case was that Rondozai, together with four accomplices who remain at large, kidnapped and assaulted Matanda in May last year in an effort to prevent him from exposing the alleged fraudulent activities at Real Star Security.

Following the incident, Matanda reportedly fled to South Africa and only returned home on December 16, 2025.

He subsequently reported the matter to the police on February 19 this year.

The court heard that Rondozai and his accomplices allegedly targeted Matanda because of the information he possessed regarding the alleged financial misconduct at the company.

The prosecution successfully argued that the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping, together with the evidence presented during trial, established Rondozai’s involvement in the offence.