Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
A NETONE dealer accused of registering 36 SIM cards in the names of unsuspecting customers and feeding them into a SIM-box operation that allegedly cost the telecommunications company more than US$1,3 million in potential revenue has been acquitted.
Harare regional magistrate Ms Marewanazvo Gofa last week cleared Tinashe Denhere (31) of fraud after a fully contested trial, ruling that the State had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had committed the offence.
The court found that while the State established that the 36 NetOne lines were registered by Denhere and subsequently used in a SIM box, it failed to establish the crucial link between his conduct and the alleged loss of revenue.
“There is no proof of which international calls were made which bypassed the normal route and picked up any of the 36 lines registered by the accused person,” Ms Gofa said in her judgment.
The State alleged that Denhere acted in connivance with an unidentified SIM-box owner, who remains at large, by buying NetOne SIM cards for resale and fraudulently registering them using customers’ details.
It was alleged that between June 2022 and March 2023, Denhere obtained SIM cards from NetOne outlets at Eastgate, Westgate, Kamfinsa and Kopje Plaza in Harare, registered 36 lines and activated and distributed them to the alleged SIM-box operator.
The operator then allegedly inserted the SIM cards into a SIM box and used them without NetOne’s authority, converting international calls into local calls and depriving the company of international-call revenue.
NetOne fraud management manager Mr Munyaradzi Hove and another State witness, only identified as Mr Chitekwe, told the court that the 36 lines were being used in a SIM box soon after they had been activated.
Explaining the operation, Mr Chitekwe said an international call, for example from the United Kingdom to Zimbabwe, would be illegally routed through a SIM box and converted to appear as a local call.
The SIM-box operator would then pocket the difference between the international and local tariffs.
However, Ms Gofa questioned how NetOne could claim potential prejudice from the 36 lines when its own witnesses said they were being used in a SIM box.
“One would wonder why both Mr Chitekwe and Mr Hove would give evidence of potential prejudice suffered by the complainant. Would that mean the 36 lines were not used in the SIM box for the complainant to suffer potential prejudice?” she queried.
NetOne was alerted to the alleged SIM-boxing by POTRAZ on February 28, 2024, while the alleged offence was said to have occurred between June 2022 and March 2023.
During cross-examination, Mr Hove was asked whether Denhere had made any misrepresentation when registering the 36 lines. He described it as “a tough question”, before saying NetOne had failed to locate the purported subscribers at the addresses supplied during registration.
The court, however, found that this did not establish fraud by Denhere, who had explained that he obtained the addresses from customers.
“The fact that the customers could not be located at the given addresses could not be faulted on the accused person,” Ms Gofa said.
The investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Charles Gwangamwanya, also conceded during trial that his investigations suggested Denhere might not have been involved in the alleged fraud.
Ms Gofa said the State had failed to place sufficient evidence before the court to establish the essential elements of fraud.
“In a criminal trial, the State bears the burden of proving the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The accused has no duty to prove his innocence,” she said.
“The State failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence of fraud under consideration. The accused is found not guilty and is acquitted.”
