Online Reporter
Arron Nyamayaro
A Harare man, who secretly recorded his intimate moments with a 20-year-old job seeker and later shared the visuals, was sentenced to an effective six months imprisonment.
Tariro Takawira, 40, of Kuwadzana Extension was convicted and sentenced by a Harare magistrate for cyber-bullying and harassment.
It was the State’s case that Takawira, unlawfully and intentionally by means of his cell phone generated, messages, videos and nude pictures and sent them to the woman’s boyfriend with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, threaten, bully or cause substantial emotional distress or to degrade, humiliate or demean the complainant.
Circumstances were that in the month of June 2026, Takawira used a fake job promise to lure the victim into intimacy and secretly recorded the video which he sent to her boyfriend without her knowledge and consent
This came to light after the victim’s boyfriend asked the complainant about the nude pictures and videos, which he had received from Takawira.
Takawira even went on to threaten the complainant stating that he was going to share the videos and nudes on the church groups and on Facebook. The messages were deemed to have been meant to degrade and humiliate the complainant on social media platforms.
The complainant then approached police leading to Takawira’s arrest.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Republic Police have confirmed the arrest, sentencing and conviction of Takunda McDonald Pfende, 27, of Waterfalls, Harare for fraud.
In a statement, Detective Inspector Rachel Muteweri who is the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) spokesperson said investigations have since established that, between May 2023 and July 2023, Pfende fraudulently misrepresented to 58 victims that he had the capacity to facilitate the acquisition of Certificates of Sponsorship for individuals seeking employment opportunities abroad.
Believing his representations to be genuine, the victims paid him a total of US$69 865.
“After receiving the money, Pfende failed to honour his promises and became evasive, prompting the victims to file a police report.
“Following thorough investigations, Pfende was arrested in February 2025 by detectives from the Commercial Crimes Division.
“He subsequently appeared before the Courts in Harare until 28 July 2026, when he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment,” she said.
Det-Insp Muteweri said the ZRP reiterates its commitment to combating fraud and other commercial crimes and urged members of the public to exercise due diligence before entering into financial transactions or engaging individuals offering overseas employment opportunities.
“Prospective job seekers are strongly encouraged to verify the authenticity of recruitment agencies; employment offers and travel arrangements before making any payments,” she said.
