Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza-Herald Correspondent
THE Supreme Court has confirmed an 18-year prison sentence for former Delatfin Civil Engineering employees who stole and sold residential stands valued at US$3 million from their employer, ordering that the stands be reverted to the company’s registry.
Jacob Muyambo and Saymonds Mutakura were initially sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by Harare magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje, who suspended two years on condition of good behaviour.
They were convicted alongside Amos Kagona, who tragically shot himself on the day he was due to be sentenced.
The duo, represented by Admire Rubaya, appealed their conviction and sentence to High Court judges, Justices Happius Zhou and Neville Wamambo, who dismissed their appeal.
The judges stated that the magistrate was within the confines of the law when he convicted and sentenced them to 20 years imprisonment.
The High Court judges also upheld Mambanje’s order that the stands at the centre of the dispute be returned to the Delatfin registry, which will assume ownership of the land worth US$3 million.
“The evidence led by the State was credible and reliable. The amount involved totalled to above US$3 million, a figure that was obtained by an auditor who testified in this court,” the judges ruled.
While acknowledging that the convicts were first offenders, the judges indicated that a lenient sentence would send the wrong message.
“But, that’s not the ultimate solution. The State made emphasis on the value of the stolen property. This is a very serious case of fraud. It was premeditated,” they stated.
“Muyambo abused his office and the trio was persistent in their enterprise and bit the hand that fed them. Their moral blameworthiness is high, hence the sentence must fit the crime and be blended with mercy.”
The judges noted that the offense was committed under aggravating circumstances, concluding that “the available mitigating factors are outweighed by the aggravating factors and they can only get them a slight reduction.”
They reiterated that the stolen stands should be reverted to the registry of Delatfin, which shall assume ownership.
The accused then escalated the case to the Supreme Court, appealing the High Court’s decision to uphold their conviction and sentence.
The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justice Mavangira, Justice Lovender Makoni, and Justice Hlekani Mwaera, upheld the High Court decision and dismissed the accused’s appeal.
“Whereupon reading documents filed or record and hearing counsel, it is ordered that the appeal be and is hereby dismissed,” the Supreme Court judges ruled.
This Supreme Court ruling marks the end of the legal dispute, which had posed a threat to Delatfin’s development. The judgment will also affect those who bought the stolen stands from the accused, as the court ordered Delatfin to assume ownership.
Magistrate Mr Mambanje, in passing the sentence, noted that the accused had “bit the hand that feeds them” by stealing from their employer.
The court found that after illegally selling the stands, they prepared fake agreements of sale, with Muyambo, in his capacity as finance manager, approving the transactions.
They shared the proceeds, fully aware that their employer would not notice the disposals at that time.
Peter Tanyanyiwa