Online Reporter
Trish Mukwazo, [email protected]
A warrant of arrest has been issued against Bridget Nyahoda (29), a former employee of Allied Timbers (Pvt) Ltd, who allegedly defrauded the company of over US$20 000 through a fake invoicing scheme.
Nyahoda, from Mutare, is accused of fraudulently dispatching the company’s timber on nine occasions.
She was scheduled to appear before Bulawayo regional magistrate Ms Benhilda Chiwundura last week for the continuation of her trial but failed to attend, prompting the magistrate to issue a warrant of arrest.
Nyahoda, who is represented by Mr Tinashe Dzipe of Morris-Davies and Company, was a sales officer at the company’s Bulawayo branch, and her responsibilities included assisting with the sales process. In August 2023, while covering for a colleague on leave, she is said to have acted as an invoicing clerk, issuing fake invoices and referring them to dispatch for the collection of goods.
According to prosecutor, Mr Owen Mugari, on August 3, Nyahoda generated a fake invoice (number OP1063343) claiming that timber worth US$4 568 had been paid for. She then used an old receipt from a customer who had purchased sawdust, falsely confirming the timber’s payment. The invoice and receipt were passed to the dispatch clerk, who then sent out the timber.
Nyahoda repeated this fraudulent scheme, using customers’ receipts from different purchases to unlawfully dispatch timber, accumulating a total of US$21 778 in fraudulent transactions.
The company’s loss control manager testified that an audit revealed Nyahoda had logged onto the system using another employee’s credentials, further implicating her in the fraud.
In addition to the nine fraud charges, Nyahoda faces 11 more counts related to a separate scheme in collaboration with Shannah Dzunzi (23), a company invoicing clerk. Together, they allegedly defrauded the company of over US$29 000 by generating fake invoices and reusing old receipts to make it appear as though customers had paid for timber purchases.
The fraud was only uncovered after an internal audit at the Bulawayo branch in July 2023. This led to a police investigation and the eventual arrest of both Nyahoda and Dzunzi. None of the stolen funds have been recovered.
