adminFungai Lupande Herald Reporter
A Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) lecturer and a student who were accused of forging a Master’s Degree in Business Administration were acquitted after it emerged that the document was neither communicated nor presented to anyone.
The student, Tasiyana Tichaona, accused of using the fake MBA to enrol for a PhD programme in Botswana and lecturer Francis Ndlovu (56) stationed at ZOU’s Harare-Chitungwiza regional campus, were acquitted after a full trial.
In his ruling, Harare magistrate Mr Eric Kadye said the alleged fake document was dropped and picked by officers manning the ZOU registry offices, but surprisingly the officers were never called to testify in court.
“The accused’s employers in Botswana were not called to court to explain on whether the fake certificate was tendered to them. State failed to prove a prima facie case,” Mr Kadye said.
In his defence, Tichaona who was represented by lawyer, Mr Passmore Mukotosi, said the allegations were malicious.
Online Reporter