adminPatrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
ELIZABETH Nyathi, the headmistress of Amaswazi Primary School in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb, has been acquitted of embezzling more than $24,000 in tuition fees and school development funds.Magistrate Gladmore Mushove found Nyathi, 57, of Luveve suburb, not guilty and acquitted her of two counts of theft of trust funds at the close of the state case yesterday.
Nyathi, wife to prominent historian and prolific author, Pathisa Nyathi, had pleaded not guilty through her legal counsel, Modicai Donga of Lazarus and Sarif Legal Practitioners.
In acquitting Nyathi, Mushove said her employer had failed to hire qualified personnel to audit the school accounts.
“There were inconsistencies from witnesses. Irrelevance of the witness evidence such as Artwell Mushipe, who claims to be an auditor but is not an auditor,” said Mushove.
“Auditors also introduced new figures during evidence and distanced themselves from the audit report produced in court.”
Mushove said some of the state witnesses were even shocked that Nyathi was in the dock because she was not responsible for SDA funds.
“Oscar Sikombingo, the SDA chairman, also stated in his defence that the accused had no control of the funds. So the court finds the accused not guilty and is acquitted of the charges,” she said.
Prosecutor Kudakwashe Jaravaza told how Nyathi joined the school in September 2009 as the head with her duties covering among other things, safe operations, receipting and banking, withdrawing payments and proper administration of the school’s tuition and general purpose funds.
Between February 28 and March 22 last year, the court heard, an internal audit was conducted by the then Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture and Nyathi failed to produce supporting books, receipts or documents to show how she utilised $7,885 in tuition fees, which was receipted and not banked.
She was accused of failing to account for $6,078 cash left over from withdrawn amounts for payment to service providers and $3,266 from general purpose funds from the period between August 19, 2009 and March 22 last year.
On the second count, it was alleged Nyathi introduced and enforced the roles of a Statutory Instrument for Private Schools Development Committees, thereby declaring herself as the chief accounting officer and becoming signatory to the school development account.
It was also alleged that within the same period, the same internal auditors noted that Nyathi could not produce receipts or documents to show how a total of $7,845.70 withdrawn from the school coffers, was utilised.
According to the Education Statutory Instrument 379 of 1998, Nyathi has no right to be the administrator of the SDA funds.
After the audit the matter was reported to the police leading to her arrest.
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