adminSukulwenkosi Dube
TWO Ministry of Mines and Mining Development workers will each serve 420 hours of community service for fraud.
Caiphas Mashura (31), who was employed as an accountant at the ministry’s Bulawayo office, processed a fake mining certificate for Ephraim Khoza with the help of his workmate Calvin Mugudi (30).
The two charged Khoza $510 and pocketed the money, a court heard.
Mugudi recently appeared before Plumtree magistrate Mr Gideon Ruvetsa for conniving with Mashura and was sentenced to 420 hours of community service at Queens Park Police Station while his accomplice had initially denied the allegations.
Mashura, who had been remanded out of custody to 15 August, was later issued with a warrant of arrest after failing to appear in court.
Prosecuting, Mr Stanley Chinyanganya said on 11 July, Khoza, who is a miner in Matobo district, visited the Ministry of Mines offices in Bulawayo seeking a mining certificate.
Mashura received $510 from him as payment for processing his certificate. He proceeded to Mugudi with the money and together they forged a certificate for the client.
“Instead of issuing Khoza with an original certificate they took a mining certificate belonging to Dzikuri Musundire and wrote Khoza’s name on it and the name of his mine. Khoza was then arrested on a later day while in Matobo for using a fake certificate and he then revealed that Mugudi and Mashura had given him the certificate. He also revealed to have paid for the service which resulted in their arrest,” Mr Chinyanganya said.
“After being arrested, Mashura led the police to his home at house number 33798 in Entumbane where they recovered the money.”
Representing Mashura, Mr Dumisani Dube of Cheda and Partners pleaded with the court pointing out that his client had already been fired from work.
“Your Worship I beg that you be lenient to my client because he has already suffered the consequences of committing the offence. He has already lost his job and he has a family to look after. I also beg that the warrant of arrest may be cancelled because the reason why he missed his court date was because he was not feeling well,” he said.
Mashura was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment of which six months were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within the period commit any offence of the same nature. The remaining 12 months were suspended on condition that he performs 420 hours of community service at Manyewu Primary School.
Online Reporter