Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
A Harare man accused of stealing more than ZiG $69 million that was allegedly deposited into his NMB Bank account in error has been acquitted after a regional magistrate ruled that the State failed to prove its case.
Chief Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro sharply criticised the bank, police and prosecutors for what the court described as “untidy” investigations and glaring evidential loopholes.
Itai Mazambani, who was represented by Admire Rubaya, had pleaded not guilty to theft and money laundering charges.
The State alleged that between February 8 and February 10, 2022, Mazambani unlawfully took ZWL$69 006 224.03 which had allegedly been erroneously deposited into his account at NMB Bank’s Excellence Branch in Borrowdale.
Prosecutors further claimed that he transferred the money into several corporate and personal bank accounts before exchanging it for United States dollars on the parallel market.
However, Mazambani denied being in control of the bank account at the time of the transactions and rejected allegations that he facilitated the movement of the funds.
He instead accused NMB Bank employees of manipulating the account and singled out a bank employee, Lyn Charlie, whom he alleged made the error, while her superior, Kudzanai Ndlumbi, allegedly overlooked it.
In his defence, Rubaya argued that the State’s case was largely based on hearsay and lacked concrete evidence linking his client to the alleged offences.
“The alleged error was noticed five days later, an indication the bank lacked strong internal systems. The bank statements relied on lacked certification,” Rubaya submitted.
He further argued that no forensic audit had been conducted to determine whether the incident could have been an inside job, particularly as the bank employees linked to the alleged error had since resigned.
In her ruling, Magistrate Guwuriro said the State had failed to thoroughly investigate the matter and had effectively asked the court to fill gaps in its case.
“The State dumped everything and now wants the court to fix all the loopholes and convict the accused,” she said.
The court also questioned the credibility of evidence from two foreign currency dealers who claimed to have exchanged cash with Mazambani.
“They claimed they visited the accused to give him the US dollars but the State was challenged to provide evidence such as gate book records or CCTV footage, but there was none,” the magistrate said.
Prosecutors had also alleged that Mazambani used part of the money to pay school fees for a child attending school in Manicaland.
However, the defence challenged the claim, arguing there was no evidence proving the child was related to Mazambani.
“The State was a bit untidy in terms of gathering evidence in this case. Surely there was nothing stopping them from obtaining the birth certificate of the pupils whose fees were paid for a complete story to be established,” the magistrate said.
The court further expressed doubt over whether the transfer of the funds into Mazambani’s account had genuinely been a banking error.
Magistrate Guwuriro also noted that the State had failed to prove that Mazambani personally carried out the transactions in question.
“I have doubt in my mind as to what exactly transpired in the matter that warrants criminal liability on the part of the accused,” she ruled.
“Fundamentally, the State also failed to convince the court that the alleged errors by Lyn Charlie and Kudzanai Ndlumbi were genuine, and that Lyn Charlie communicated with the accused. The doubt in the mind of the court benefits the accused since a criminal conviction is beyond a reasonable doubt.”
She added that investigators had failed to produce electronic evidence linking Mazambani to the transactions.
“The State also did not prove that it was the accused doing the bank inquiries, and there was no production of the alleged MAC addresses, the IP address or IMEI number confirming that the accused was the person behind the gadget,” she said.
