Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
A 25-YEAR-OLD Mutare woman will serve an effective two-year prison sentence after being convicted of duping her employer of US$17 000 to fund her own retail business.
Michellene Muzenda was sentenced to six years behind bars at the Mutare Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Regional magistrate, Mrs Anne Ndiraya, suspended two years of the sentence for five years on condition of good behaviour, and a further two years on condition of restitution.
Mr Chris Munyuku prosecuted.
The complainant is local businesswoman, Mrs Nomsa Chave-Chiadzwa.
Muzenda of Hobhouse One, Mutare, was employed by Mrs Chave-Chiadzwa as a supervisor.
Mr Munyuku said Muzenda’s duties included collecting cash from automated teller machine operators, balancing daily cash sales, recording them in the cash sales book, and ensuring all records tallied with ATM data.
She was also the custodian of the keys to the improvised safe, where the daily cash was stored.
The court heard that in June 2025, Muzenda ensured that tellers with daily cash sales variances had their deficits deducted from their salaries at month-end.
On March 17, 2026, Mrs Chave-Chiadzwa tasked Muzenda with auditing daily cash sales recorded by Audrey Chiadzwa, a supervisor at one of her shops for the period spanning February 2026 to March 17, 2026.
Simultaneously, another supervisor, Tendai Chitambirofa, was instructed to audit the daily cash sales recorded by Muzenda at the two shops for the same period.
Mr Munyuku said Chitambirofa later reported to Mrs Chave-Chiadzwa that she discovered numerous discrepancies in the records managed by Muzenda.
Conversely, Muzenda’s audit report back to Mrs Chave-Chiadzwa claimed zero variances.
Mrs Chave-Chiadzwa subsequently reported the matter to the police, resulting in Muzenda’s arrest, and recovery of US$700 cash.
On March 20, Muzenda led detectives to her shop at Tinmac Mall in Mutare, where they recovered proceeds of crime, including two large teddy bears, two small teddy bears, 21 dresses, three jumpsuits, two miniskirts, three satin skirts, seven jeans, three pairs of leggings, six crop tops, four handbags, 22 towels, 31 pairs of ladies’ panties, 12 men’s trousers, 15 pairs of boxer shorts, 45 perfumes, 21 hair removers, 14 pairs of push shoes, and 35 pairs of slippers.
On March 27, Muzenda’s iPhone 13 handset, featuring an Econet line, was submitted to the ZRP Cyber Laboratory for forensic examination.
A cybercrime report was subsequently compiled, and a USB flash drive containing extracted data was produced.
On April 11, a certified fraud examiner performed a forensic audit to investigate cash variances at the two shops between November 2025 and March 2026.
Findings relied on available enterprise resource planning system data, manual cash book entries, and digital communications.
Mr Munyuku said investigations established Muzenda falsely recorded daily cash sales in the sales book to conceal discrepancies with ATM data.
Total value prejudiced stood at US$16 241,05, alongside merchandise valued at US$400.
Supervisor jailed 6 years for US$17 000 fraud
