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Court Correspondent
The court on Tuesday set separate trial dates for the Eaglesvale Senior School headmaster, salaries officer and bursar who are accused of embezzling over $800 000 after they encashed leave days and awarded themselves allowances without board approval.
The headmaster, Naison Tirivari (60), and salaries officer Cheryl Botha (52) will appear in court for trial on March 14, while bursar Charles Shokobishi (57) will be inthe dock on March 16.
The trio is facing fraud charges and is on $1 000 bail each.
The complainant in the matter is Eaglesvale Senior School’s board vice-chairman Mr Willard Gonde.
Allegations are that sometime last year Eaglesvale Senior School’s board members held a meeting to look at the school’s financial records.
It is alleged that anomalies in cash in-lieu of leave payments to non-teaching and teaching staff were discovered.
In 2013, the board had instructed the accused not to encash leave days. A forensic audit established that Botha encashed her leave days.
It was discovered that Botha entered varying amounts on other staff members’ cash in-lieu of leave on the payroll sent for authorisation.
Once the authorisation was obtained from the headmaster, Botha would then alter the electronic payroll to have cash in-lieu of leave allocated to her pay.
Botha allegedly effected payment through her CBZ account 008920804980033.
It is alleged that Botha overstated her bonus from 2011 to 2014 accumulating to $518 007, 58.
Tirivari, who doubled as a Mathematics and Thinking Skills teacher, authorised and approved his cash in lieu of leave days amounting to $135 377, 50.
He also received unapproved termly allowances amounting to $13 366 without the board’s knowledge.
Tirivari allegedly swindled the school of $148 743.
Shokobishi is accused of conniving with Tirivari and received $19 903 for 225 leave days, contrary to his employment contract.
Online Reporter