tawandamusarurwa
Online Reporter
A 47-year-old Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) employee has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing US$168 458 from the parastatal on 258 separate occasions.
Patricia Chikowore (47) was convicted after a full trial before the Harare Magistrates’ Court, where she was facing 258 counts of criminal abuse of office as a public officer.
She will serve three years effective, after two years were conditionally suspended.
The State successfully proved that Chikowore, who was employed by Zinara as a licensing officer stationed at the Harare Exhibition Park Branch, was in the habit of corruptly interfering with the vehicle licensing system, by distorting expiry dates and arrears.
On 258 occasions the accused person unlawfully used her position and access to an error correction facility on the licencing system and altered expired licensing dates for certain vehicles.
She was fraudulently overriding arrears and penalties, thereby misleading other Zinara licensing officers to act on the incorrect information on the system to licence the said vehicles.
She prejudiced Zinara of US$168 458.
The offence came to light in November 2018, when Zinara discovered that certain vehicles had their arrears and penalties cleared without supporting documents.
Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter