adminA MINISTRY of Health and Child Care employee has appeared in court for masquerading as a Mangwe Rural District Council worker, forging a fake receipt for a liquor store operator and pocketing $828 in the process.
Farai Gedion Mandipa (36), who is an Environmental Health Technician at Bango Clinic in Mangwe, appeared before Plumtree magistrate Mr Gideon Ruvetsa facing forgery charges.
He resides in Emganwini suburb in Bulawayo.
Prosecuting, Mr Stanley Chinyanganya said Mandipa forged a signature of a council worker and issued Nxusani Tshabalala with a fake receipt for renewing his bar liquor licence.
“On the period extending from 30 June to 4 July Mandipa received $828 from Tshabalala who is the owner of White House Cocktail Bar which was meant for the renewal of his liquor licence.
“Mandipa then manufactured two fake Mangwe RDC receipts each with a value of $414 and placed a fake date stamp on them and also placed a fake stamp on Tshabalala’s licence and pretended to have renewed it. He gave Tshabalala the fake documents to display on his shop window,” he said.
The court heard that Mandipa also forged a signature belonging to one of the council workers on each receipt. The official denied having authorised the documents.
On 29 August the local authority’s internal auditor, Thembani Ndlovu carried out a licence inspection exercise in the district to check on the validity of liquor and shop licences as well as the authenticity of the receipts when he discovered the fake documents displayed outside the shop.
“He realised that the receipts and date stamp used on the liquor licence were fake and took the documents for further assessment.
“The matter was reported to the police and Mandipa was arrested while at Bango Clinic. He surrendered the fake date stamp which he had used to the police,” said Mr Chinyanganya.
Mandipa was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment of which six months were suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit an offence of the same nature.
The remaining 12 months were suspended on condition that he performs 420 hours of community service at Hlanganani Primary School.
Online Reporter