Online Reporter
Trish Mukwazo, [email protected]
A WARRANT of arrest has been issued for Bridget Nyahoda (29), a former Allied Timbers (Pvt) Ltd employee, who allegedly siphoned over US$20 000 through a slick fake invoicing scam — then vanished before her trial could resume.
Nyahoda, from Mutare, was supposed to appear before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Benhilda Chiwundura last week, but failed to pitch up. Her absence saw the court slap her with a warrant of arrest.
Represented by Mr Tinashe Dzipe of Morris-Davies and Company, Nyahoda was employed as a sales officer at the company’s Bulawayo branch. But in August 2023, while filling in for a colleague, she allegedly switched roles and began issuing fake invoices like clockwork.
According to the State, led by prosecutor Owen Mugari, Nyahoda started the scam on August 3, when she allegedly generated a bogus invoice (No. OP1063343) claiming timber worth US$4,568 had been paid for. She then recycled an old receipt from a completely different customer — one who had only bought sawdust — to back the lie.
“She passed the documents to dispatch, and the timber was sent out without a cent being paid,” said Mugari.
The court heard that she pulled off the con eight more times, racking up a total of US$21 778 in losses to Allied Timbers. The company’s loss control manager later testified that Nyahoda had even logged into the company system using another employee’s credentials.
But that wasn’t all.
She’s now facing 11 more charges, this time allegedly teamed up with Shannah Dzunzi (23), a company invoicing clerk. The pair is accused of cooking up another US$29 000 scam using the same tactic — ghost invoices and recycled receipts.
The fraud came to light after a July 2023 internal audit, triggering a full-blown police investigation and the arrest of both suspects. To date, none of the money has been recovered.
Now with Nyahoda on the run, the case has taken a twist — and police are hunting her down.
