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Midlands Bureau
A Public Service Commission (PSC) employee has been arrested for duping two teachers of US$800 after promising them jobs.
Tinashe Joseph Mpofu (38) of Old Prison Complex in Gweru appeared before Gweru Provincial Magistrate Ms Beaulity Dube on Wednesday facing two counts of criminal abuse of office as a public official.
He was not asked to plead and was remanded to November 8.
His lawyer, Mr Esau Mandipa of Mandipa, Makwara and Chikukwa Legal Practice managed to successfully apply for bail and was ordered to deposit US$50 with the Gweru Clerk of Court and to report once a fortnight at the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) offices.
Ms Dube also ordered Mpofu not to interfere with State witnesses and to continue residing at his given address.
It is the State case that Mpofu allegedly duped Barbra Bere of US$300. He promised to facilitate her employment as a teacher under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
It is alleged that Bere met the accused at the Government Complex on March 24 and paid US$150.
Mpofu insisted that Bere should pay the full amount so that she could secure the job before schools opened for the second term.
The court heard that Bere borrowed the other US$150 and paid Mpofu.
However, Mpofu failed to facilitate Bere’s employment, prompting her to request a refund in September 2024. She never recovered the money.
In March 2024, Mpofu reportedly used the same trick to dupe Masaila Tenjiwe of US$300, which she never recovered.
On the third count, the court heard that Mpofu duped George Nyanda of US$200 under the pretext that he would secure a job for his wife in public service.
In February 2024, Nyanda met Mpofu at the Government Complex car park, where he handed over his wife’s curriculum vitae.
Mpofu demanded a facilitation fee of US$400 to speed up the process, but Nyanda insisted that he could only pay US$200, with the balance to be paid once his wife got the job.
Mpofu was paid the initial deposit in May 2024, but Nyanda’s wife never got the job.
According to ZACC investigations, no facilitation fees or payments are required for PSC recruitments.
Online Reporter