Chronicle Editor
Trish Mukwazo, [email protected]
A 51-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo woman was sentenced to 12 months in prison after she masqueraded as an EcoCash agent and scammed another woman of US$455.
Zanele Dube of Nkulumane 11 suburb was convicted of fraud after duping Ms Angela Dube into sending an amount of US$455 to her number and later fled.
Bulawayo provincial magistrate, Mr Maxwell Ncube, sentenced her to 12 months imprisonment and suspended two months on condition that she doesn’t commit a crime of similar nature within the next five years.
Mr Ncube further suspended five months on condition that Dube restitutes the money that she stole to the victim and another five months on the condition that she performs 175 hours of community service.
In passing the sentence the magistrate considered that the offender is an elderly woman who has children but however, noted that her conduct was deplorable as she conned a woman of her money on the pretext of a lie that she was going to give her cash.
Prosecuting, Mr Sam Mpofu said that on 11 October in the afternoon along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and 3rd Avenue in Bulawayo Dube approached the victim and misrepresented to her that she had US$455 cash and she was looking for someone that would send that amount to her account.
Mr Mpofu said the victim sent the amount to her EcoCash account.
“After the transaction, Dube did not give the victim the cash which she promised to give her, but fled,” he said.
The court heard that the offender was apprehended by police and escorted to the police station and the victim never recovered her money
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