Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
A FINANCE manager employed by a local gas company has appeared in court on allegations of defrauding her employer of over US$34 000 by falsely claiming she was paying suppliers over 16 months.
Rumbidzai Nyamande (30), of Zin’anga Village, Ziko Dema, who is employed as a finance manager at Nexus Gases Chitungwiza, appeared before the court on fraud charges.
She was granted bail. The complainant is Dunexas Investments (Private) Limited, the company that owns Nexus Gases.
The State alleges that between January 2025 and April 2026, Nyamande approached the firm’s cashier on 27 separate occasions requesting cash to settle payments owed to suppliers.
It is alleged that she received a total of US$34 567,56 but instead diverted the funds to her personal use without paying the intended suppliers.
The State further alleges that, in an effort to conceal the misappropriation, Nyamande manipulated the financial records and statements using her position as finance manager.
The alleged fraud was uncovered after several suppliers approached Dunexas Investments demanding payment for outstanding invoices.
This prompted the company to commission an internal audit, which reportedly revealed discrepancies in the financial records and evidence that some accounting documents had been tampered with.
The court heard that when management confronted Nyamande over the transactions, she allegedly failed to provide a satisfactory explanation, leading the company to file a police report.
She was subsequently arrested and brought before the court.
According to the prosecution, Dunexas Investments suffered a prejudice of US$34 567,56, and none of the money has been recovered.
