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Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
The audit of schools’ accounts ordered countrywide a few weeks ago has netted its first victim, an assistant accountant at St Aidans Primary School in Chitungwiza who was arrested on allegations of misappropriating $27 260.
The audits were instituted after the Government realised that most schools were failing to account for fees and levies, with headmasters and School Development Committees being the main culprits.
The St Aidans assistant accountant Vimbai Zenda (31) received money from parents on behalf of the school which she pocketed before manufacturing bank deposit slips to cover up the offence.
But the fraud was unearthed by auditors from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education who were deployed to the school recently.
Zenda yesterday appeared before magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe facing charges of fraud and was granted $100 bail with the State’s consent.
As part of her bail conditions, she was ordered to report once a week to the police, not to interfere with witnesses and to continue residing at her given address until the matter is finalised.
According to the State, Zenda was promoted sometime in 2008 from being a clerk to an assistant accountant.
She is responsible for receipting and banking school funds as well as reconciling cash books with bank statements.
The prosecutor Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa alleged that during the period between September last year and April this year, Zenda received a total of $27 260 from parents on various occasions.
She was supposed to bank the money into the school’s account held at CBZ bank, but she would pocket the money she would have received on a particular day, it is alleged.
Online Reporter