Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku, Court Reporter
A 23-year-old woman, once regarded as one of the best students and on the verge of graduating as a nurse, saw her dream collapse after being arrested and sentenced for using a fake Ordinary Level certificate to secure a training place at Mpilo Central Hospital.
Thelma Gurupira, of Mbare in Harare, appeared in court last Friday before Bulawayo magistrate Itai Kagwere, charged with presenting a forged certificate to an institution of learning with intent to gain admission.
She did not contest the allegations and pleaded guilty to the charge. Gurupira was represented by her lawyer, Tanaka Muganyi of Tanaka Law Chambers.
In mitigation, Muganyi urged the court to exercise leniency, describing Gurupira as a youthful offender who was deeply remorseful. He pleaded with the magistrate not to impose a custodial sentence to avoid exposing her to hardened criminals.
Muganyi highlighted the tragedy of the case, noting that Gurupira was the best student in her class and that the conviction would haunt her for life, barring her from practising the profession she had worked so hard to pursue. He added that Gurupira had completed her Diploma in Nursing but would never be able to work as a nurse because of the conviction.
The court heard that Gurupira had passed five O-Level subjects in three sittings and was duped of US$300 by a man who promised to consolidate her certificates but later vanished.
Prosecutor Mehluli Ndlovu argued that Gurupira’s actions undermined the integrity of the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec) and stressed the need to deter others from similar conduct.
Magistrate Kagwere sentenced Gurupira to pay a US$200 fine, failing which she would serve six months in prison. Three months were suspended on condition that she does not commit a similar offence within five years.
In passing sentence, the magistrate noted that the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating ones.
The court was told that Gurupira submitted a forged Zimsec O-Level certificate when applying for a place at Mpilo School of Nursing. The fake document claimed she had passed six subjects in November 2017. Acting on the fraudulent certificate, Mpilo admitted her into training, where she studied from 12 September 2022 to 11 September 2025.
In a related case that recently rocked Mpilo Central Hospital, Taurai Prosper Vanhuvaone, who posed as Prosper Mpofu, was convicted of fraud, impersonating a medical professional, and unlawfully prescribing medication. His hopes of securing bail pending appeal were dashed after the Bulawayo High Court dismissed his application.
