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His co-accused, Dumisani Sibanda (42), of Block 4/145 Mpopoma, was found not guilty and acquitted at the close of the trial due to lack of evidence linking him to the offence.
Mdongo’s lawyer, Mr David Mhiribidi, of DW Mhiribidi and Company indicated that he would appeal against the court’s decision.
Mr Jeremiah Mutsindikwa told the court that the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare employed Mdongo as the chief medical equipment technician and Sibanda as the store officers both based at Mpilo Central Hospital.
Mdongo is a member of the Procurement Tender Committee and his duties included repairing all damaged hospital equipment, supervising all installations at the hospital and receiving medical equipment.
He also provided technical expertise to the Procurement Tender Committee on matters related to his department.
Sibanda is the chairperson of the Central Buying Unit and his duties among others are to liaise with suppliers on the hospital’s needs and invite bids, compiles tender documents, monitor the market and advise the Procurement Tender Committee accordingly and maintain records of the hospital purchases and issue out requisition to successful bidders.
The State case was that in 2010, Mpilo Central Hospital invited companies and individuals to bid for the installation of a hood heat extractor fan in its main kitchen.
Six companies responded and participated in the tender.
On 19 May 2010, the Procurement Tender Committee deliberated on the tender and awarded it to a company called Award Industries (Pvt) Ltd based on its lowest quotation of R48 000.
The State proved that Mdongo hatched a plan to defraud Mpilo and after the Procurement Tender Committee had adjudicated over the tender, Mdongo instructed Award Industries to visit the site and submit a second quotation.
On 26 May 2010, Award Industries submitted a second quotation of R248 000 with new and different conditions to the first one.
The State proved that the quotation was then fraudulently and without signatures of the Procurement Tender Committee filed in the tender documents.
Sibanda, who was represented by Mr Mlamuli Ncube, of Cheda and Partners, on 31 August 2010 raised a requisition based on R48 000 quotation, allegedly altered the requisition by inserting the figure 2 on the R48 000 amount to read R248 000.
On 4 February last year R248 000 was paid to Ward Industries.
A Ministry of Health and Child Welfare audit team carried out an audit and discovered that an extra R200 000 was paid to Award Industries based on a fraudulently filed quotation by Mdongo and Sibanda.
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